Blood Runs Dry
by Laily
Summary: The Final Chapter. 'Please read and review,' Jesse begged. 'Laily is going to kill me if you don't...' Seriously.
1. Default Chapter

Genomex,  
  
Time unknown.  
  
"I assume you have some good news for me, Ms. Perraudin." Cold, dead eyes gazed from the sunken crevices of an equally dead face, a face many would mistake for a mask.  
  
He sat stone still in the chair, regarding the young woman standing in front of him with beautifully concealed contempt. At that, he needed no further practice. The endless recruits came and went, an eager and obsequious New Mutant after another, each rarely lasting for long before being replaced by yet another eager and obsequious New Mutant. Yet none of them had ever pleased him well.  
  
The young woman with straight jet-black hair stared at him coolly through catty green eyes, and they glowed resplendently against her ivory complexion.  
  
"Well? Wasting my time will not gain you any credits from me." His voice was, of course, frosty, but she was far from daunted.  
  
She sauntered over to the table and almost seductively, bent forward and splayed her long fingers near the edge; smirking as he hurriedly pulled his hands away in the fear that she would somehow touch him.  
  
"Oh but I can afford to. You have all the time in the world, Mr. Eckhart," she purred, imitating a Feral perfectly despite the fact that she wasn't one. Oh no, she was far stronger than ferals, almost as strong as most psionics even, and she knew that. "But one of Adam's Mutants." She paused for a dramatic effect, and the edges of her lips curled up slightly, "- doesn't."  
  
And from beneath the mop of bleached, synthetic hair flashed a sudden smile of triumph.  
The Bronx,  
  
A few days before.  
  
She made her move through the dance floor; her slinky silk dress clinging to her delectable body like satin sheet. At first glance, she was, like any other girl worthy of a second glance, hot, like really, REALLY hot. But to Jesse she was a scorpion; a deadly hunter seeking out the perfect target, the perfect mate, with the audacious yet perfectly alluring sexiness. . .  
  
The way her crystalline eyes pierced through his, smouldering and mesmerizing.the way her lips pulled back in that oh so sexy smile. . .Jesse surreptitiously lowered his eyes. The way her hips swayed in time with the music. . .And the fact that she was heading straight toward him made him feel almost giddy.  
  
And the moment she pressed herself against him, sending him up against the wall, Jesse knew he'd been had.  
  
How bold. A stranger too. No, Jesse corrected himself. A perfect, beautiful stranger.  
  
"Caramel. . .," He murmured. Pick-up lines always came easy to him but tonight, nothing seemed to stop him from saying out the first thing that came to his mind, nothing seemed to stop the tremors than ran down his spine as she traced a long fingernail along his jaw line.  
  
That got her attention. The stranger lifted her head; her long, shiny black hair partly shielding her eyes but Jesse could still catch the sharp gleam in them. What beautiful eyes she had.  
  
"Hmm?" Even the lustrous timbre of her voice struck a chord in his heart.  
  
"I bet you taste like caramel," he said huskily. Red, red lips parted, showing the whitest set of teeth he had ever seen.  
  
"You want to try?" Jesse detected a hint of an accent from the soft roll of her tongue as she whispered her invitation, subtle yet exquisite. A rush of euphoria coursed through his veins as he pulled her closer toward him. He couldn't believe his luck; a French beauty of all things. Secretly he hoped Brennan was watching; he would definitely go nuts with envy.  
  
Jesse nodded.  
  
The girl dug her fingers into his strong shoulders. Jesse acquiesced and lowered his head, gently pressing his lips against hers. Then for a long, endless second, Jesse was floating; caught deep in the throes of passion and love at first sight. And when the kiss finally broke, Jesse knew caramel was not the right word to describe her.  
  
"I take it back. . ." Jesse bent down to kiss the nape of her neck. "Rich. . .red. . .wine. . .that's -what you are. . ."  
  
She giggled, her throat vibrating against the flesh of his lips. This is just too easy, she thought with glee. Damn fool, is he one of the people Eckhart is so afraid of?  
  
She wrapped her arms around Jesse's neck and pulled him in close for another kiss. Hmm, not a bad kisser. I bet the rest of him doesn't taste that bad either.Should I go for his chest? She splayed her hands against his torso, amazed at how taut his muscles were. Painful, but too quick. Scratch that.  
  
"Who ARE you?" Jesse asked in amazement.  
  
"Je veuz rentrer. . ." She mumbled dreamily. And Jesse forgot all about her name.  
  
One of the few reasons why Jesse could never be as tough, let's face it, as Brennan was because he was brought up rich. There were times Jesse would curse being born, as Brennan had put it so eloquently, with a silver spoon in his mouth, but now wasn't one of them. Because one thing rich kids like him got to do, was go for French classes.  
  
She's asking me to take her home, Jesse realized. "Avec moi?" He asked smilingly.  
  
You wish, she thought. She ran her fingers through his blond hair and held both hands against his temples. Hmm. How about the brains? Adam would have a hard time dealing with THAT. . .  
  
She nodded seductively.  
  
"Ou habitez-vous?" Asking her where she lived may not sound all that romantic, but at least he was getting somewhere. He would sure hate to lose out with a girl this hot.  
  
"I live. . ." She gazed dreamily into his eyes. "-in your heart." Her grip tightened, and Jesse winced a little when her fingernails dug into his temples. But his smile faded a little when her eyes suddenly rolled up, showing only the whites, and the pressure at the sides of his head intensified.  
  
"Whoa!" Jesse quickly pulled her wrists away from him. "Are you okay?"  
  
For a moment, Jesse thought he saw her eyes glower in the dark. And before he could say anything else, she balled her fists as if to punch him, and without so much of a word or a smile, turned on her heels and stalked off.  
Damn, Elaine Perraudin cursed under her breath. She had almost had him. Just a little bit more, and he would be dead. And now she had to start all over again. From the shadows she had slunk, she watched him. His tall dark- haired friend had joined him now, and Jesse was turning his head from side to side as if looking for someone. Looking for me. Jesse seemingly appeared to have read her move. Had he really?  
  
In the ladies', she stripped off her dress and flung it to the far corner in frustration. There's no way of going after him now, she fumed as she pulled on the jumpsuit she was wearing earlier.  
  
Guess I'll have to wait then, she thought. She summoned all her energy she had meant to use on Jesse that night, and soon, dark red clouds swiveled over her balled fists in coats of resplendent aura.  
  
Jesse had been right. She was a scorpion. And she had chosen him as her first victim. Then only would it be the rest of the Mutant X. 


	2. Chapter 2

"What is it?" Brennan joined him. Jesse had a perplexed look on his face and was looking around as if looking for someone amidst the faces bathed in the fluorescent neon lights. "Jesse?" He had to shout to make himself heard over the loud, blaring music.  
  
"Did you see a-a girl? She was with me just now?" Jesse twirled, still intent on finding the French beauty. "She's gone now."  
  
Brennan smirked. "Hey, don't they always do that to ya? Disappear?"  
  
Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Very funny." But he still looked distracted. And worried. There was something about that girl which didn't seem right. Something a little off about her.  
  
"Hey, you OK? Did she, like, do something to you or something? Some deep dark mojo?" It wouldn't be the first time that happened. Caleb Matthias happened to Emma and Brennan sure didn't want a rematch with some New Mutant who could kill at will with just a kiss. The Kiss of Death, my ass, he thought, downing the last of his Tequila shot.  
  
"What? N-no, I ah.I don't know," Jesse drawled, sticking his hands into his jacket pocket and gave a slight shudder which didn't go unnoticed. Brennan studied him intently. What's wrong with this guy?  
  
It's just your imagination. Nothing more than that, Jesse thought. With that, he lifted his face and met Brennan's eyes. "Come on, let's call it a night. I'm wiped."  
  
"You sure look it." Brennan followed Jesse with his eyes as the younger blond man pushed his way none too gently through the mass of swaying bodies but before he had gotten too far, Brennan grabbed the back of Jesse's jacket. "Hey, I'll meet you at the car in a while, huh? Got to visit the loo."  
  
"Whatever." Jesse grabbed the keys Brennan was holding out and slipped into the shadows, out the door a moment later, involuntarily groaning in pleasure as he inhaled deeply into the fresh, dewy air, which smelt a lot cleaner that the suffocating, smoke-saturated junk he'd been forced to breathe in for the last few hours. His head cleared a little and a small smile tugged at his lips as he walked further and further away from the club, heading toward the Audi parked a couple of yards down the road. He was even whistling a little when suddenly a voice behind him stopped him in his tracks.  
  
"Leaving so soon?" The drawl sounded strangely familiar.  
  
Jesse turned around slowly. "The way I see it, you left me first."  
  
"Poor baby." The dark-haired beauty glided across the wet pavement with an agility and grace Jesse had never seen before in a woman. Too graceful, even. Could she be a New Mutant? A feral, maybe? Should he feel threatened? Jesse tried to stay calm but that was hard to do, especially with this mysterious lady so close to him. He stiffened as he felt a hot thigh pressing against his, gently pushing him backward against the wall. Oh wow.  
  
"Look-" He started to say, but his words died in his throat as an ice-cold hand suddenly slipped behind his neck and as if hypnotized, Jesse allowed her to pull him closer and as his lips touched hers, whatever doubts he had about her disappeared, as if dissolved in the magic of the kiss. A warm, tingling sensation lingered at the back of his throat, and Jesse voluntarily deepened the kiss- this girl felt so right- and he didn't want her to stop.  
  
"I don't even know your name," he murmured in her ear. Elaine giggled.  
  
"They call me." She splayed her slender hands over Jesse's chest, marveling at the feel of the strong tight muscles under her fingers, the results of long hours of workout, and felt a tiny pang of guilt at what she was about to do. What a waste, a man with such potential. Too bad. "Evie."  
  
"Jesse."  
  
Elaine stood on tip-toe to give him another kiss. "I know. We've met before."  
  
Out of the corner of his eyes, still a hundred feet away, he saw a tall, hulking figure approaching. Brennan.  
  
"We have?" Jesse traced a thumb over her exposed collarbone, fingering the silky ivory skin. At last Brennan was close enough for Jesse to make out his features, but the expression Jesse saw on his face was one of concern and alarm.  
Indeed, Brennan WAS worried. From afar, it seemed as though the girl had Jesse up against the wall and for one crazy moment, he thought Jesse was being attacked; like Emma had been the last time she was there. But as he got in closer, he saw that not only the girl did have Jesse riding up a wall, but also that his younger friend was smiling to his ears. His face relaxed and when he caught Jesse's eyes, he gave him a thumbs-up sign and retreated back into the shadows. Guess we won't be heading home just yet, Brennan mused as he went around the block to get to the car at the other end. He figured he'd just wait for Jesse in the car.  
"Yes." Evie/Elaine drawled. She smiled again, showing off a perfect set of whites. "Once upon a dream."  
  
Jesse laughed. "I've never met anyone like you. How-" He turned serious. "How come I've never seen you around before? Are you new in town?"  
  
"Something like that," she answered after a while. Questions. She hated them. Another deep, searing kiss took care of that.  
  
"It's getting late," she murmured against his neck. She had made sure his friend didn't see her face. Everything was going according to plan despite the earlier disruption. The location of the Sanctuary would be of no mystery to her and to Genomex in no time.  
  
"I should get going," her voice was muffled as she buried her face into his chest. Now. Her hands slid down his torso slowly and rested on his stomach. Five seconds, she thought with glee. Five seconds and it's bye-bye Jesse. And for the last time, she leaned forward for a kiss.  
  
One. She spread her fingers apart, erotically touching the ridges of his six-pack abs.  
  
Two. She could feel the energy slowly rolling along her elbow, and into her palms.  
  
Three. Slow, go slow, she chanted in her head as she let the tendrils flow from her palms, into Jesse.  
  
Four. She deepened the kiss, knowing that Jesse was too consumed by it to feel anything; at the same time, she kept the venom pumping.  
  
Five. There. Done. With a sly smile, she crushed the last of the energy out, balling her fists against Jesse's warm body, knowing full well that the damage had been done.  
  
Breathless, she broke away from the kiss and looked deep into Jesse's eyes, which still flashed a fluorescent blue in the dark. "It's been nice knowing you, Jesse." She started to pull away.  
  
Jesse wasn't about to let her get away so fast. Not this time. "Evie-"  
  
"I have to go," she said huskily, trailing a blood-red fingernail down her cheek, her raven hair flowing freely over her bare shoulders.  
  
"But-" Confused, Jesse held on to her. "You want to leave? Now?"  
  
"Oh don't worry, love, you will see me again. Soon." She pulled away from him, and the moment she did, Jesse felt a rush of heat course through his body, causing him to gasp a little. The girl was simply electric.  
  
"Can't you at least give me your phone number?" She was already a few feet away from him, walking off into the dark. "I can at least send you home."  
  
She shook her head, her black hair a shiny cascade of dark, tumbling mass. "Your friend is waiting, Jess. Till next time," she blew him a kiss and just as mysteriously as she had appeared, she disappeared, blending in the dark shadows of the alley.  
  
He didn't quite expect the emptiness after she left, but that was exactly what he felt. Empty. Jesse couldn't help wishing that he could see her again. Am I falling in love? With someone I've just met? Suddenly he felt a little sick. Too much alcohol plus a dazzling mystery woman Yep, that must be it.  
  
With a shrug, Jesse dug deep into his pockets and shivered against a sudden chill. What a night, he thought as he walked down the alley toward the car where he knew Brennan was waiting. 


	3. Chapter 3

The Cherokee, courtesy of a certain secret Government Agency who was the owner of many other Cherokees of its kind, sped down the Freeway as if there was no tomorrow, slinking in and out of taffic in all its ominous glory. Its occupants? Shrouded in the same aura of mystery and secrecy.  
  
She had been sitting quietly at the back for the last hour, and if the agent at the wheel cared to look into the rearview mirror, he would have definitely seen the lines of concentration contorting her fine features. If not for the occasional mono-syllable directives 'right' or 'left' or 'south' or 'faster', he would have thought she was in a trance.  
  
Indeed she was, and in a deep one too. For the record, since Eckhart had hired her, she'd been bringing him more New Mutants per day than any of his previous recruits had in a month. And it was all because of her genius and that little strand of nucleotides hidden in her every cell, also known as DNA. Inflicting every New Mutant she met with the same deadly malady was her renowned specialty. The ability to track them down was a bonus.  
  
She kept her eyes shut and concentrated on the radioactive waves she was receiving. The signals were getting stronger by the minute. They were getting closer and closer to the psionic she had been tracking; she could feel it in her bones. There. That's it. It had finally come to her. The exact location.  
  
"31, Docker Street. That's where he is."  
  
************** Jesse awoke the next morning to an awful pain in his stomach. Ugh, he groaned silently, squirming a little in his bed, hoping to ease some of the discomfort. I knew that last Margarita was a mistake, he thought with a wince, and with an effort, he pushed himself up on his elbows.  
  
His alarm clock read 11.00 a.m.  
  
*Oh God* Jesse rubbed a hand across his face wearily. 11 o'clock was late, even for him. That, and plus his churning stomach, he had a feeling that it was going to be a long, long day.  
  
Resisting the urge to rub his sore stomach, Jesse got dressed as fast as his hurting body would allow him and made his way down the stairs. He didn't need to look into the kitchen to know that Shalimar had left some breakfast for him like she always did on the rare occasions that he'd missed a meal. The thought of food seriously made him want to regurgitate.  
  
As he expected, everyone was gathered around Proxy Blue.  
  
"Hey, Jess." Emma was the one to look up first. She smiled at him sympathetically. "Rough night?"  
  
"You might say that." Jesse had to agree. "What's going on?" A painful twinge in his abdomen caused him to wince a little, and he quickly hid his discomfort behind a small cough. Thankfully the rest of the gang was too busy listening to what Proxy Blue was saying to even notice.  
  
"The mysterious disappearances of New Mutants," Shalimar summarized for him. "Lost another one yesterday. A feral, reported missing after calling in sick from work." Jesse nodded, and his eyes flicked to Adam. Their mentor and guardian looked worried and Jesse could understand why. When New Mutants went missing, they were either dead or captured, neither one a pleasant thought.  
  
"Genomex?"  
  
Adam shook his head. "I can't say. Eckhart has always been subtle in his work. . . but we can't deny the possibility that he could be involved in this. Kidnapping New Mutants is risky business but ten New Mutants have been reported missing in the past week alone- if it was Eckhart's doing, he's risking his neck on the line for such drastic action."  
  
"Unless he's confident no one can pin anything on him." Shalimar frowned.  
  
"Well, if it's him, he's doing a pretty good job in covering his tracks. No witnesses whatsoever. Most of the New Mutants who disappeared, they either lived alone-" Emma looked deeply concerned.  
  
"Or maybe they didn't put up with much of a fight when they got kidnapped," Brennan finished.  
  
"Or- they went on their own free will," Jesse added.  
  
"Well, assumptions won't do us any good without solid proof," Adam crossed his arms across his chest. "Jesse, Brennan, I want you guys to check out with the New Mutant Underground, see if you can find out anything. Shalimar, run a check on those missing Mutants, see if you can find a link in their disappearances. Emma, you help Shalimar out. I believe I'll go and have a little talk with a certain someone." A gleam shone in his eyes.  
  
"Got it." They nodded.  
  
******************  
  
She stood back a little distance away as the agents forced the door open. Impatiently, she breezed through the door with more than a slight huff. The GS agents were quite slow today, wasting precious seconds which were crucial to make a quick and clean getaway. The longer they stayed, the bigger the chance they would be seen. And that was what she couldn't afford.  
  
A loud moan from inside the house urged her to search each and every room, until she got to the last one. Just as she expected, the New Mutant was already very sick, and was now moaning and writhing on the floor of the cramped bedroom, clutching his head in his hands, trying to seek relief from the intense pain in his head.  
  
"Oh poor baby. . ." Elaine knelt down next to the young man, and clasped his temples between her hands. He had been a strapping young thing, tall and strikingly handsome when she first met him at the bar, alluring him and seducing him even before he had a chance to hone in his psionic abilities to really read her intentions. He didn't even know what hit him. Until she got into his head.  
  
"Governor," she snapped, holding out her palm. Hurriedly, the agent planted one in her out-stretched hand. Ignoring his cries and groans, she blasted a shot at the back of his neck. There.  
  
Then she smoothed out his damp blond hair out of his eyes. He was in so much pain she doubted he was even aware of her presence.  
  
"Come, let me fix you hmm?" She then placed a hand on his clammy forehead, and accumulated all her energy, feeling it flow from inside her body to the tip of her fingers. As more of the soothing waves were pumped into him, the mutant grew calmer somewhat, his sweaty face bathed in a resplendent red light. In her mind's eye, she could see the tumor, which had been growing at the back of his skull the last few days shrinking and shrinking and at last dissolving into nothingness. With a sigh, the guy finally released the death grip he had had on his head and his body went limp.  
  
"Grab him. We need to get out of here."  
  
That's another one, she thought with glee. At the rate I'm going, a promotion does not seem unlikely now, does it? Immediately her mind flew to yesterday's event. Ooh she couldn't wait to get her hands on the blond molecular she was sure she had taken care of. It's just a matter of time now. Then, not only would Eckhart be pleased with her for doing such a good job on capturing New Mutants for him, but when he learnt that soon Mutant X would cease to exist, and most important of all, the location of their secret hideout, then maybe, maybe a smile would at last appear on that dead fish face of his.  
  
******************  
  
Jesse was beginning to think that maybe tracking down some missing Mutants wasn't such a good idea after all. The truth was he wasn't feeling so hot and his stomach pains were back with a vengeance, and they were no longer just of minor nuisance. It was bad enough that Brennan had to drag him everywhere, questioning every New Mutant they met and getting no real answer in return, but now the elemental, who'd never shown a talkative side to him before, was being painfully conversational today.  
  
"So. Last night. At the back alley. Was that the girl?"  
  
"What girl?" Jesse grumbled.  
  
"The girl you were looking for. Man, was she a hottie or what."  
  
Jesse ignored him and snuggled deeper into the passenger seat, trying to ease the pain in his gut by not talking much, or better yet, not talking at all.  
  
"What did she see in you anyway? I was there with you all the while, why did she go for you? I don't understand," Brennan said, hoping to get Jesse in the mood. His friend had been unusually quiet through the whole journey, and even their usual, loud, abusive banter was preferable to this.  
  
"So.what's her name?" Argh. Brennan was driving him nuts.  
  
"Barney," Jesse retorted at last, giving him an evil eye.  
  
Brennan shrugged, and concentrated on his driving for a while. "Hey, man, chill. What's your problem?"  
  
"Nothing," Jesse mumbled, avoiding his friend's searching eyes. "Just don't feel like talking, okay?"  
  
"Okay." Brennan shrugged. "Just, if you're going to sleep on the way back, don't drool on the upholstery okay?"  
  
Jesse groaned silently and curled around himself even tighter. 


	4. Chapter 4

Jesse peeked into the kitchen, and turned his head surreptitiously from side to side. When the only person he saw was Emma, he heaved a sigh of relief. Had it been anyone else, a particular, over-protective, mother-bear to be specific, whom he'd been trying to avoid since he got back, Jesse would be in a serious trouble.  
  
"Don't worry Jess, she's not here," Emma said with a smile, her hands flying over a potato, and miraculously long, golden brown peels dropped into the sink one by one. Women. No matter how they kicked ass in the battlefield, it was like an artwork to watch them in the kitchen. "Is something the matter? Dinner will be ready in a couple of hours."  
  
Ugh, Jesse thought, resisting the urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust in the fear of offending Emma but the overwhelming smell of the beef stew she was preparing wafted through the air and assaulted his nostrils. It was sickening.  
  
"It's okay, Emma. We ate on our way back," Jess lied. Well, he was not exactly lying, just stretching out the truth a little. The burger Brennan ordered looked and smelled sooo unappetizing it took Jesse sheer will to keep his stomach down. And after he was so rudely awakened from his sleep too!  
  
Emma gave him a sharp look before picking up another potato. "You feeling alright, Jess?"  
  
Jesse hesitated. "Yeah, except that my stomach's been kinda acting up a little. Do we have any Tums around here? Some aspirin maybe?" He walked into the spacious kitchen with a hand lightly holding his waist.  
  
Emma opened an overhead cabinet and extracted a pink bottle filled with tablets. "Here." She handed him the bottle of antacids and watched warily as he popped the bottle open. Jesse's color was a little off and he seemed to be grimacing in pain when he downed two of the tablets in one go. Couldn't help feeling concerned, Emma went over to him.  
  
"You sure you're feeling ok, Jesse? Do you have a fever?" Emma laid a hand on his forehead. No fever.  
  
"I'm fine," Jesse said, pulling away from her touch gently. "It's just a stomach upset that's all. Nothing to worry about."  
  
"Is it something you ate?"  
  
Jesse shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
"Do you feel nauseous or does it just hurt?"  
  
Jesse narrowed his eyes. What is this, mother-bear in-training? "Emma, chill. It's nothing."  
  
Emma couldn't shake the feeling that it was something more than that. She trusted Jesse well enough not to read him, unless it was absolutely necessary. SO for now, he just had to settle for 20 Questions.  
  
"Jesse, did-" She paused, "-did anything happen that I should know about?"  
  
Jesse stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Did anything happen to you? Last night, at the club?" She asked suspiciously.  
  
At first Jesse looked annoyed, but then he frowned. "Well. . . nothing much- The usual I guess, chatted with some girl, drank some, danced some- I didn't get into a fight or anything like that- Why do you ask?"  
  
Emma was tempted to tell him that she sensed a little disturbance in him, like some kind of tremble in his metabolic activity, an imbalance but at last she decided to keep it to herself. She was being too paranoid. Jesse just had too much to drink, that was all.  
  
"I just had too much to drink, Emma. You know how I get when I down one too many Margarita," Jesse said.  
  
Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, that's what I thought too. Well, you'd better go lie down and give your poor tummy a rest then. I'll call you down when dinner's ready." After a moment's hesitation, Jesse leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek.  
  
"Thanks, Em. Love ya." Feeling a tad better already, Jesse slipped out of the kitchen and left her to her cooking.  
  
************************* "Hey, Brennan." The elemental looked up from his lap-top.  
  
"Whatcha doing?" Shalimar bounded down the stairs, her golden hair flying gloriously behind her. She held what looked like a computer printout in one hand and her jacket in the other.  
  
"Just replying some e-mails. What's up?"  
  
"Well, I hooked up with some New Mutants from the Underground, asking around if they knew any other mutants who have reported sick from work for the past couple of days or those who they haven't seen in a while and I've printed out their home addresses. Thought I might go and check it out. You wanna come?"  
  
********************** "Why is it that every time your face appears on the screen of my computer, I have a feeling that I am in for some serious heart-to-heart talk with you? And before you start, I just want to let you know that whatever propositions or accusations or petty ethical debates you just feel like having with me, I am not interested."  
  
"Mason, you know me well. And unfortunately for you, the same goes for me. Now I want this latest scam of yours to stop. Whoever you're using, or whatever you're using to kidnap all these New Mutants from their homes, I want you to stop."  
  
"Oh Adam, I seriously have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
"Stop playing with me, Mason. My men are out looking for-"  
  
"Your men, Adam? Well, I am delighted to share a secret with you, do you want to hear it?" He leaned in closer until his nose was a few inches away from the screen. "I have prepared 4 special pods right here at Genomex and I assure you, those pods will be filled in no time. And when that time comes, you will find yourself out of MEN, Adam." With that said, he terminated the connection with a smugness he hadn't felt for a very long time.  
  
********************* Brennan slammed on the brakes just as soon as he saw the agents running out of the house in the eastern part of the city. The two-storey building belonged to a psionic who hadn't showed up at the computer company where he was working for a week.  
  
"Come on!" Shalimar was already out of the car and running. She caught up with the first agent and easily knocked him down with a flying kick to his face. Another one approached her with a governor in hand. This one was skilled at least, and he managed to block most of her blows with one hand, while trying to get the governor close enough to her to give her a shot. Shalimar deliberately allowed him an opening, pulling his arm toward her front, while exposing her back toward him and when she felt the brush of he device against her hair aiming for her neck, she quickly flipped backward into the air, executing a perfect somersault over the agent's head. To her delight, he was violently wrenched to the back as well and the crack his arm made told her that she had broken it.  
  
Brennan had also joined in the fight, deflecting the blows the agent kept raining on him with perfect, practiced ease. One man launched toward him, and he caught the man's booted foot in the middle of what would have been a perfect front kick if he hadn't caught it, and he violently wrenched the ankle to one side. The agent howled in pain.  
  
"Who's next?"  
  
Oh man.the next one came toward him, grinning savagely, brandishing what looked like a crowbar but with the familiar tendrils of electricity crawling up and down the edge. Brennan rolled his eyes and without hesitation, he fired a bolt which knocked the deadly tool out of the agent's hand.  
  
"Brennan!" Shalimar was vaulting over the fence. He could see where she was heading; a woman dressed in black was helping a blond-haired young man who was obviously unsteady on his feet into a Cherokee, an agent with a governor close behind her. Breaking into a run, he could only guess that the guy was the New Mutant they were looking for.  
  
"Hey!!!" Shalimar yelled, and put on more speed. But Brennan could see there was no way they could reach the four-wheeler in time; they were too far away and the kidnappers had already gotten into it, except for the lady.  
  
The woman turned toward them and smirked, her long black hair framing a face which was too beautiful to be the product of a plastic surgery.  
  
Brennan's eyes wet wide.  
  
It wasn't so much as the face. He didn't get the chance to see it clearly that night.  
  
But the hair. The build. They all appeared to be the same.  
  
Could that be the girl who was with Jesse that night? 


	5. chapter5

Author's Notes: Ooh I'm having so much fun! I absolutely adore Jesse; I just don't know why I can't seem to stop torturing him. Hmm.  
  
goldstranger: You're absolutely right.  
  
szhismine: When? Very, very soon. (  
  
brigitta: I hope this next chapter will answer your question. (  
  
****************  
  
Shalimar swore under her breath as she skidded to a stop; only to inhale a lungful of exhaust fumes and she winced at the screeching sounds the tyres made against the asphalt as the four-wheel-drive sped away. She couldn't believe they she had let them get away and she was positive that they had just witnessed a possible kidnapping.  
  
"So what do we do now?" She asked out loud as Brennan stopped beside her. When he didn't answer, she turned to look at him and immediately noticed the perplexed look on his face as he stared into the distance at the gradually disappearing Cherokee. "Brennan?"  
  
"You said all the New Mutants who disappeared, they all reported sick?"  
  
Shalimar frowned. "That's what all their friends said, yeah. Why do you ask?"  
  
Without answering, Brennan broke into a run toward the house, his long coat billowing as he increased his speed.  
  
Okay, so now I'm confused, Shalimar thought. What the hell. She followed suit.  
  
*****************  
  
By late afternoon, Jesse was in serious pain. He had tried everything in the book, tried every remedy he knew, tried sleeping the pain off, hell, he even tried meditating like Emma always did whenever she felt stressed, but the persistent, nagging ache seemed to worsen instead of disappearing like what any other normal stomach ache would do after a couple of hours.  
  
Shit, this is unreal, he thought as he sat at the computer console, staring blankly at the screen. He supposed the best thing he should do right now was to lie down, but he had tried to earlier and strangely, it seemed to make the pain worse if that was even possible. Emma was still banging away in the kitchen, God only knew what she was doing, going to all troubles fixing dinner when they could just eat out, Adam was nowhere to be seen and so were Shalimar and Brennan. Good. The less people around him, the better.  
  
Right now, Jesse was in the middle of upgrading the Sanctuary's security system, a thing he'd been working on since the past couple of weeks. Well, I'm TRYING to, if not for this goddamn pain in my stomach, he thought irritably.  
  
Well, indigestion or not, he'd better get the sensory software worked out or else Adam would have a fit. If he succeeded, the program would soon be able to detect possible intruders within a 30-mile radius, sending out sensory radioactive waves that would single out wavelengths of the same frequency of any incoming craft, be it by sea or by air.  
  
At the same time, he was also looking out for Brennan and Shalimar, staying in contact in case they needed anything. He had wanted to join them earlier, but later decided not to. Running around, tracking down kidnappers and kidnappees would simply take too much energy and energy was what he didn't have much of right now.  
  
Right, he thought in satisfaction as he typed in one final command. I think that's about it. Let's see if this works.  
  
He activated the sensory device, and tested the alarm that would, well, basically deafen everyone in the Sanctuary and relatively put everything on alert.  
  
He froze when all the alarms went off. Thankfully, he had lowered the volume considerably earlier so that he would be the only one who could hear it. But the tingling sensation was there; and he grew even tenser when the alarm didn't go off in the next 5 seconds. That means. . . it's not a false alarm. Are we under attack? Now?  
  
Upset stomach forgotten, Jesse leaned forward, and after clicking furiously for a few seconds, he brought up onto the screen the security video. Studying the radar, he was perplexed to see there was nothing there. No aircraft, no hostile forces on the way, no nothing. Just air and water. Sanctuary was safe.  
  
So where are all these waves coming from? He wondered. The alarm was still going red, blinking rapidly as if they were really seconds away from being attacked.  
  
This is so weird, he thought. Then, his confusion quickly turned into annoyance. Great. This can only mean that I've screwed up again. Now I have to start all over again.  
  
Shaking his head at his futile effort, he deactivated the alarm and set to work, starting from scratch. Little did he know that the sensory detector had been working just fine all along.  
  
******************  
  
"What are you looking for?" Shalimar looked around the messy living room.  
  
"I think I've seen that GS agent, that dark-haired woman-somewhere," Brennan answered distractedly. He swept his eyes across the room, wrinkling his nose in distaste. One thing he didn't like was messy, cluttered rooms. It made searching for evidence almost impossible. The GSA had probably turned the place upside down to make it look like the usual kidnappings. If what he suspected was right. . .  
  
"You have? Where?" Now Shalimar was curious.  
  
"Like I said-somewhere." True, he may be over-reacting, but there was no harm in trying to find out who she was. Hell, they were SUPPOSED to find that out for God's sake. "Now quit standing around and help me look for clues."  
  
Shalimar rolled her eyes. She yawned and flipped her long hair carelessly over her shoulder. "Like. . .this?" She swooped down and picked up a long piece of what looked like a thread. No, wait. Brennan straightened up and plucked it out of the smiling feral's fingers.  
  
It was a long strand of black hair.  
  
"Bingo," he said, breaking into a grin.  
  
***************  
  
"Jesse!" Jesse winced at the shrillness of Emma's voice. Must have been a cheerleader in high school. Hah, a cheerleader. Emma. That's hard to imagine. "Jesse, come on down!"  
  
"Coming," he answered wearily and letting out a sigh, he lifted the parallel bar and slid out of the station. He still couldn't figure out what had gone wrong with the software. As he waited for the computer to properly shut down, at the same time keeping a look-out for any sign of malfunction, which he would have to take car of later anyway, he unconsciously felt his stomach. It had been behaving itself for the past half hour and he hoped it'd last. He couldn't afford to get sick now; not when there was so much to do, with the missing New Mutants and all. Plus, he had a flawed security system to fix. And for the first time that day, he felt a pang of hunger.  
  
Speaking of hunger, Jesse suddenly found himself thinking about Evie. He had to admit, he had never been as smitten about anyone as he had been with her. He wondered if she was thinking about him or if he would ever see her again. Already he was thinking about going to the club again, tonight, in the hope that he would run into her again.  
  
Now, wouldn't that be nice, he thought wistfully.  
  
"Jesse!!!"  
  
Rolling his eyes, Jesse threw his hands up in the air. "Coming, mother!!!"  
  
**************  
  
"Where's Jesse? Is he home?" That was the first question Brennan asked the moment he stalked into the Sanctuary, Shalimar close behind him. She's forced him to tell her what was going on and though she knew better than to make any assumptions, she also shared Brennan's suspicions. If the girl was really the GS agent, and if she had made a move on Jesse that night, well, Shalimar didn't know what to make of it. . .but it's got to be something not good, she thought.  
  
Emma emerged from the kitchen, holding a platter of what looked like fried fish dumplings. After placing the food on the table, she wiped her hands on her apron and held a hand out. "Well, if this is what you call home, then I guess he is. He's upstairs, fixing something on the computer. Why, is something the matter?"  
  
Shalimar sent Brennan a sharp look and he walked off to find Jesse.  
  
*******************  
  
Jesse was just about to go down the stairs when the pain struck again, and it struck hard. With a grunt, he abruptly doubled over and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed onto the wall.  
  
"Oh shit," he muttered through clenched teeth. He felt like someone had bludgeoned him in the gut with a sledgehammer; the pain was excruciating. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead as he struggled to fight the overwhelming sickness.  
  
From the distance he could hear sounds of laughter and approaching footsteps. Brennan and Shalimar must be back, he thought sickly.  
  
At last, Jesse was finally able to take a breath without wanting to pass out, and very, very slowly, he straightened up gingerly keeping one hand tightly clasped to his stomach.  
  
*OK, so now I'm freaked out. Just what the hell was that?* The last time he had ever felt a pain like that was when he had his appendix taken out. *And that was like when I was what, twelve?*  
  
Just when he thought the worst was over, another shard of pain stabbed through his stomach like this and it took Jesse every bit of effort to keep from crying out. His legs threatened to turn into jelly and in his pain, Jesse had to lean against the wall for support, trembling as another violent cramp seized him.  
  
Oh God, please, make this stop, he groaned silently.  
  
"Hey, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Jesse raised his head slowly, whimpering softly. He couldn't help it. It hurt too much. Brennan was standing at the foot of the stairs, staring at him expectantly with what looked like a smile of relief on his face. "I've been meaning to ask you-"  
  
If only Jesse was listening.  
  
"Jesse?" Brennan's smile disappeared.  
  
Letting out a loud moan, Jesse groped blindly for the wall, struggling frantically to regain his balance, but the pain was too much. His trembling legs teetered precariously on the edge of the stairs.  
  
Brennan's mouth dropped open in horror.  
  
Jesse's knees buckled. I think massing would be a good idea, he thought dazedly as he watched the long, endless flight of stairs rush up to meet him. Like, now. But it was too late. As he tumbled down the stairs, Jesse was dimly aware of someone shouting his name, he wanted to answer, God he wanted to so much, but the crack his head made when it hit the bottom was so loud he could feel it reverberate in his skull.  
  
"I think I've been plugged," Jesse Kilmartin whispered softly as Brennan's panicked face came into view. And then everything went black. 


	6. chapter 6

Elaine Perraudin had just stepped out from the shower, freshly showered, when the feeling struck her, and it struck her so hard it nearly sent her reeling. She threw her head backward as the tingling sensation overcame her, sending delicious trails of heat up her spine, and past experiences told her it wasn't because of the billowing remains of steam behind her. Nor was it because of the sinful anticipation of stalking new victims later in the night like she had planned earlier.  
  
It has started, she knew. "Ah, Jesse," She breathed out, smiling gently. She could just picture him in her head; he must be in pain, in a LOT of pain, to send out such strong, such volatile vibes.  
  
Elaine unwrapped the towel from around her body and let it drop to the floor, relishing the feel of reddish smoke as it swirled against her skin from top to toe. It was too early to hone in her natural in-built sensory detectors as to locate where the waves were coming from but she had every reason to believe that soon, Jesse would be suffering so much his soul would practically scream out to her to come, which she would definitely do in the nearest time by the looks of things.  
  
That was fast, she thought in self-awe and thoughtful sadness. Normally it would take other mutants at least a couple of days to show the slightest symptoms. I knew I overdid it that night. Too bad. He was kinda cute too.  
  
Feeling a tad disappointed, she just hoped Jesse wouldn't die before she could get to him.  
  
Remember who you're working for, Elaine, she reminded herself. His death is just another mutant's death, if it means destroying the cloak of secrecy Mutant X has had the luxury of wearing for as long as it has run its course.  
  
She realized she was having mixed feelings. She didn't know where they were coming from, but one thing she did know was that she didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.  
  
******************* Her heart racing, Emma carefully placed the steaming platter of fish down and gripped the edges of the heavy mahogany dining table, tense. Something felt wrong; like something bad was about to happen. Or has already happened, she thought. The stunned look on her face did not go unnoticed, though.  
  
"Emma?" Shalimar called her name, looking slightly worried. She had seen that look on her friend's countless of times and a feeling of dread crept up her spine like goosebumps. "What is it?"  
  
"Something's wrong," Emma whispered. Then suddenly she bolted out of the kitchen. "It's Jesse!"  
  
"What?" Shalimar was already moving when she suddenly Brennan calling out her name with an urgency she seldom heard in his voice. And what she saw at the base of the stairs struck a chord of fear in her heart.  
  
"Jesse!" The molecular was sprawled on the floor, his legs twisted under him in a grotesque tangle; and he was lying so still that for one frightening second, Shalimar thought he was dead. She sank slowly to her knees and tentatively reached out a hand to touch his pale face.  
  
"Jesse?" she whispered sickly.  
  
"Brennan, what happened?" Emma snapped. Brennan looked at her sharply. She had never used that tone of voice with any of them before and it unnerved him to see her so agitated.  
  
"I don't know- he just-fell. One second he was standing there at the top and the next, he was tumbling down the stairs." He laid a tentative hand against Jesse's neck gently. There. A strong pulse. Thank God for that.  
  
"But I-" Emma hesitated. "I sensed something else. . . a presence-"  
  
"What?" Shalimar's concern for her surrogate brother quickly turned into alarm. And fury. No one was going to hurt Jesse and get away with it. She leaped to her feet and she swept her eyes around the Sanctuary, her feral senses geared up to the max. "Are we under attack? Did someone attack Jesse? Was that what happened?" She snarled.  
  
Brennan thought for a while, uneasiness creeping up his spine at the prospect that someone had breached the impenetrable security system. "No," he said finally. "The alarm would have gone off. And I've already told you what happened, it was an accident. What is important right now is we need to get Jesse into the lab and check him out." He looked worried as he bent down to feel the knot at the back of Jesse's head. "He hit his head pretty hard too."  
  
Emma forgot all about her suspicions of a possible break-in and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, come on." She wanted to say that Jesse had complained of not feeling very well earlier but decided not to, knowing that it would only upset Shalimar further. Whatever was wrong with Jesse, she was sure Adam could fix it and she didn't think she had no reason to believe otherwise. After all, it was an accident. Wasn't it? "I'll go get Adam. I think he's in his room."  
  
"Yeah, hurry!" Shalimar had already bent down to help Brennan lift Jesse up, careful not to jostle him so much. With a heavy heart she let Brennan scoop Jesse in his arms, after all, he was the stronger of them both, but seeing Jesse so pale and lifeless scared her. Please be alright, Jesse, she prayed as they raced toward the Med-bay, all the while keeping an eye on him, hoping for any sign of life, a cough, a groan, anything. But still Jesse remained unresponsive.  
  
A sudden churn of bad feeling stirred deep inside her gut. Please, please be alright, Jesse, she prayed again but no matter how, she couldn't shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come, and that it wasn't going to be pretty. 


	7. chapter 7

"Hey, what's going on?" Adam asked breathlessly as he marched into the lab, Emma close behind him. Looking at the droplets of water dripping from the roots of his hair, Brennan now knew why Emma didn't just call him through the com-link; she knew he was in the shower and had apparently finished up as fast as he could from the looks of it. The older man's face turned serious in immediate concern the moment he saw his unconscious protégé stretched out on the bio-bed.  
  
"Adam." Shalimar's eye lit up when she saw him come in. She was in front of the monitor, checking Jesse's vitals. And she was not liking what she saw. Jesse's heart rate was fluctuating; dangerously slow one second, sky-high the next. His breathing had been shallow when they brought in, so shallow he had not seemed to be breathing at all, but now, his breaths came out harsh and raspy. His brainwaves were also darting up and down crazily; his every sign of life had gone haywire.  
  
Adam quickly went to Jesse, and on closer inspection, he frowned at the tinge of blue already beginning to adorn Jesse's extremities, a sign of oxygen-deprivation. Without being asked, Brennan covered Jesse's face with an oxygen mask.  
  
Emma sent Adam a scared look. "Adam." When she first saw his unconscious body lying at the foot of the stairs, she had tried reading Jesse, and what she encountered filled then her with dread. At first all she got was a blank, which, well, still okay, compared to what she was sensing now.  
  
Pain, pain and nothing but pain. She couldn't tell if Jesse was even aware of what was happening around him; in the eye of her mind, she could only see the white burst of agony.  
  
"Oh God. . ." Shalimar swiveled around.  
  
"What, Emma?" She snapped. "Tell me!"  
  
Emma shook her head in helpless despair. "I don't know. . .at first all I got was a blank- but now. . ."  
  
"Now what?" Shalimar persisted.  
  
Emma's haunted eyes searched hers. "He's in pain. A lot of pain."  
  
Adam gazed at her for a second. "Yes, and that's what we're trying to do now. To find out what's wrong with him and make him better." He pulled a syringe out of the drawer and drew a few milliliters of a clear fluid into it. "He fell, you said?"  
  
"Yeah." Brennan nodded. "And he hit his head real hard too." He watched as the clear liquid disappear little by little into Jesse's arm. The drug took full effect in a matter of seconds, and soon, Jesse's heart rate and blood pressure returned to normal, but he was still breathing hard, his thorax expanding and contracting with exertion.  
  
" He must have slipped-or something," Brennan said uncertainly, trying to convince himself that it was nothing more but an accident. But he dug deep into his pocket and his hand grasped the plastic packet in which he had kept the long strand of hair they'd found at the psionic's house.  
  
"You said he was in pain? Where?" Adam's gentle hands probed Jesse's body, relying on his sense of touch to indicate the source of pain if he could. He felt the bump at the back of Jesse's head and grimaced at the size of it.  
  
Emma shook her head and winced. "I can't tell. . . the pain was too overwhelming." She expelled a breath of fear. "Adam, help him."  
  
Jesse's face was so pale his eyelids were almost translucent, and Adam began to wonder if there was something really wrong with the molecular as he pried Jesse's eyes open one by one, lifting each eyelid as gently as he could. Then he straightened up. "Could be a concussion. Pupils a little dilated, and a few burst capillaries."  
  
He placed both his palms against Jesse's temples. "Jesse." Jesse's face remained slack, void of expression, and of any sign of consciousness.  
  
"Jesse, can you hear me?" Adam tried again, saying out loud each word deliberately. They waited in hushed silence, each fervently wishing for Jesse to wake up. The only response Adam received was an unsteady pull of breath tightening his hitched chest.  
  
Adam reached out a hand to pull the overhead scanner closer, placing it right on top of Jesse. An overall scan would tell them what was wrong with him. The others took a step back, giving Adam the much-needed space.  
  
"Ready, Emma?" Emma nodded. She was about to press on the button to start scanning when she heard a sudden, low groan. She froze for a second and quickly twirled around. "Jesse!"  
  
Shalimar forgot all about giving Adam space and instantly leaped forward. "Jesse!" She exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.  
  
Jesse groaned again, his head lolling weakly to one side, his face contorted as if in intense pain. With their own eyes they saw him shiver once, and crackling, marble-like tendrils spread throughout his whole body, as if by massing himself it would paralyze his pain. Apparently, it did not and expelling a shaky breath, Jesse returned to normal and the red tendrils disappeared.  
  
"Jesse?" Adam called out his name gently. "Jesse, can you hear me?"  
  
"Come on, Jesse, open your eyes," Shalimar pleaded.  
  
They could see that it took Jesse a huge effort to even breathe. Emma licked her lips nervously before summoning up peaceful, soothing images. . .of the ocean, the mountains, vast green fields and quickly she projected the images into Jesse's mind, hoping that they could calm him down and make him not hurt so much. To everyone's relief, Jesse calmed down considerably and she held her breath as Jesse's eyelids flickered open slowly.  
  
She guessed the fall had been bad; Jesse looked disoriented and his pain- filled gaze was a bit unsteady as it settled on Adam, who was looming over him, peering at him expectantly. But at least he was awake.  
  
"Adam," he whispered weakly before closing his eyes tightly, his face scrunched up in agony.  
  
"Jesse, do you remember what happened?" Adam articulated each word clearly.  
  
Shalimar bit her lower lip when Jesse tried his best to shake his head. Her throat constricted painfully as Jesse writhed on the bed, whimpering. "Hurts," he gasped out, his eyes watering.  
  
"What does? Tell me, Jesse. Is it your head?" Adam asked in concern.  
  
Jesse closed his eyes and shook his head again, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly as he swallowed hard. "My stomach," he whispered sickly, shivering despite the warmth of the laboratory.  
  
Frowning, Adam looked at Shalimar in confusion. Shalimar shrugged and looked at Emma, who looked like she wanted to say something.  
  
"Jesse told me he had an upset stomach earlier this afternoon," she said worriedly. Adam nodded and began examining Jesse's abdomen. His fingers probed Jesse's middle but stopped when Jesse flinched and swatted his hand away.  
  
"That-hurts," he gasped.  
  
"Alright, Jesse." Adam then activated the scanner, and they waited as the light bathed Jesse from head to toe as he writhed on the bed in pain. Adam tapped a few commands into the computer and soon the scanner focused on Jesse's abdominal area. His heart seemed to stop when he saw what appeared on the screen.  
  
That's impossible, he thought. His first reaction was to panic but his knowledge and experience got the better of him so he forced himself to calm down as he examined the image closely, hoping that it had been nothing but a simple error.  
  
Shalimar watched in suspense as Adam deactivated the machine and activated it again. Adam scurried back toward the monitor and got it to scan Jesse again. There was nothing wrong with the machine; he had checked. But still the same image of Jesse's abdominal cavity appeared again, though blurry it may seem, it confirmed his previous prognosis.  
  
"What is it, Adam?" Shalimar broke the hushed silence that had suddenly fallen between them. Her eyes flicked toward Jesse; his eyes were closed and his chest was rapidly rising and falling with the strain of breathing.  
  
Adam rubbed a hand over his face, something he did very often whenever he felt something was wrong. He inhaled deeply before looking at the image in front of him again.  
  
He recognized what the black mass obstructing Jesse's alimentary canal was.  
  
Disturbed by his silence, Shalimar marched toward Adam. And soon Emma joined her standing beside him.  
  
"Adam, what is it? Tell me?" Shalimar was beginning to lose her patience. She peered closely at the image on the screen. "What is that?"  
  
"A tumor." Adam's voice sounded resigned, but they both knew that at that moment, his mind was racing.  
  
"What?" Shalimar nearly shrieked.  
  
"A large tumor has settled itself deep inside Jesse's digestive tract, blocking his intestines. That was what had been causing Jesse's pain," he explained in a soft voice so that only the three of them could hear. He didn't want Jesse to know. Not yet. Not until he had confirmed everything and come up with an accurate diagnosis.  
  
Emma was horrified. "Jesse- he has-"  
  
"Cancer? Is that what you're saying?" Shalimar asked, her eyes wild with disbelief and panic.  
  
"Yes." 


	8. chapter 8

"H-how is that possible?" Shalimar's voice was so shaky she was certain she was going to break down any minute. She was never one to be able to control her emotions very well for long and usually at any sign of distress, she was always the first one to freak out. But not this time. This time she was not just freaked out, she was terrified. But she wasn't going to show it in front of Jesse.  
  
Adam's voice was hushed. "I've never seen anything like this before. It could be an acute side-effect from the initial alteration to his genes.it could also be genetic. Either way, I have to perform more tests on him to be certain." Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Jesse had curled up onto his side with his knees raised to his chest, pale and shaking.  
  
"But-cancer-" Helplessly, Shalimar tore her eyes away from Adam and stared imploringly at Emma. She raked a hand restlessly through her mane of golden hair, obviously distressed. "How-how could this happen?"  
  
As she stared in forlorn at the shivering figure lying on the bed, Shalimar could feel the first tremors of realization dawn on her. Cancer was treatable these days, yes, but people do still die from it, she thought to herself in fear. But this was all happening too fast for her, too-sudden for her to really absorb the whole gist of the situation.  
  
Adam was working furiously, trying to pinpoint the exact cause of Jesse's sudden illness and as his fingers flew over the numerous buttons and keys on the monitor, he could feel the wheels in his mind whir in time to the rapid beatings of his heart. Something like this would have shown up in Jesse's physical, Adam thought disbelievingly. His EDD check-ups on all four of them had always been thorough and nothing like this should have escaped him.  
  
Shalimar and Emma were now standing on both sides of Jesse, holding his hands. Emma's face was unreadable as she rubbed his hand comfortingly but Adam knew she was equally worried; probably even more. Because she was the only one among them who could feel Jesse's pain. Since she had discovered her abilities, or 'the shining' as she sometimes called it, she had had her own share of pain as well as other people's. One thing she regretted about having the ability to connect was that how the people closest to her always failed to see her as a part of themselves and accept her the way she was, without having to deal with the insecurities and the distrust her own friends had in her. Just because she could read people's minds, fears and emotions, that made everyone naturally wary of her and though she knew they couldn't help feeling that way around her, she had always thought herself as an outsider.  
  
But now, she was glad she had the shine. She leaned down close, so close her lips nearly brushed Jesse's clammy forehead, concentrating hard. The tremble of his hand beneath her fingers confirmed her suspicions. She didn't have to read him to know that the pain was almost unbearable; so unbearable that his mind was now a huge, gaping void, undefined yet she could still find it. She didn't know what was causing Jesse's illness but she was thankful that she could help ease the pain a little.  
  
"Shalimar." Jesse whispered sickly, his voice so weak she could barely hear him. "Hurts."  
  
Shalimar whispered soothing words to her friend, but she doubted that he was even listening. His eyes were half-closed, glazed and lifeless, and he appeared half-conscious. His blond hair was matted to his scalp, and she had never seen him look so sick.  
  
"Adam, isn't there anything you can give him?" She asked pleadingly, her eyes imploring. Adam nodded, and after giving Jesse a shot, Adam realized for the first time that Brennan was no longer in the room. He watched solemnly as Jesse stopped twitching around and at last, settled into a deep, exhausted sleep.  
  
Suddenly Emma froze. "I'm going to find Brennan." Without another word, she gave Jesse's hand one last squeeze and stalked out of the lab. As he expected, Shalimar refused to even budge from Jesse's side, his head wedged against the inside crook of her elbow as she tenderly caressed his hair.  
  
"You have to help him, Adam," she said dully. He gave her a knowing look and nodded.  
  
"Is he going to-?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the question.  
  
Adam inhaled deeply. When he didn't say anything, that was when the tears came for real.  
  
***************  
  
"Brennan." Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes before turning around to the sound of the voice. Behind him she could vaguely see a profile of someone on display. She had a good guess whom the person might be. Brennan's fears and anxiety were so vivid she couldn't help overhearing his thoughts.  
  
"I should have known." He shook his head slowly, leaning back against the bar and lowering his head dejectedly.  
  
"You couldn't have known Brennan." She sidled up to him slowly, unsure of what to say. "There's no way you could have known."  
  
"But I was there. I could have stopped her." Emma turned her back toward him to take a look at what was on the screen. She read every word slowly. The woman's cold green eyes stared back at her and she shivered inwardly.  
  
"I've never heard of a carcinogenic mutant before," he commented nonchalantly, but deep inside, Emma knew he was not feeling as calm as he appeared to be. There was a storm in his eyes and she could feel the beginnings of a turmoil lurking deep within him somewhere.  
  
"An elemental. Able to emit radioactive waves at will, causing severe mutation of the oncogenes." Genes involved in cell division. Her genetics knowledge was certainly nothing compared to Adam's but she knew enough to know what that meant. Bitch blasted a few radioactive waves into Jesse, causing his cells to divide abnormally, forming a tumor, she realized, feeling more than a little sick. "The touch of death," her mouths formed the words, but no sound came out.  
  
Brennan was still staring into space. "It wasn't an accident, was it? Coz for one moment there, I really thought I saw him slip."  
  
Emma shook her head. "No, it wasn't."  
  
Brennan pursed his lips and nodded slowly, raising his eyebrows in acknowledgement.  
  
"So how's he doing?" There was real concern in his voice now.  
  
"Not good," a voice answered from behind the stairs. And soon Adam came into view, striding purposefully toward the console. He pressed on a key and Proxy Blue flickered onto the screen. A small vid-cap on the far bottom- left of the screen showed the image of the same, beautiful woman Emma saw earlier.  
  
"Eaine Perraudin. She's currently working for the GSA, and has until now managed to stay in Eckhart's good books, bringing in one New Mutant after another without fail. She's carcinogenic elemental as you yourself might have read, and currently the most dangerous asset of Genomex. I want you to find her and bring her here."  
  
Brennan's jaw dropped open. "What?"  
  
Adam's eyes turned darker. "The New Mutants inflicted with this disease she spreads around all began to show signs of illness within days of meeting her. And from the strand of hair you tested on, you missed something." Adam retrieved the DNA results from the hair and added in a few commands. A few seconds later, virtual scrawling filled the screen.  
  
"The genetic mutation caused by the radioactive waves can only be cured by the same frequency of waves she emitted. In other words, laboratory radiotherapy is not going to eradicate all cancerous cells from Jesse's body, they will only grow back once destroyed. The radiotherapy we need has to come from her."  
  
"In other words." Brennan stared at the older man unblinkingly.  
  
"In other words, she is the only one who can help Jesse."  
  
"In other words." Brennan repeated, still unable to understand.  
  
"In other words, without her, Jesse dies." 


	9. brd9

The koi carp was looking at him  
  
Seriously, it was.  
  
He stared back at it dully, resisting the urge to dip his hand into the clear water and grabbing it around the neck. The thought struck him funny. Fish have necks? Then he decided he didn't care. Genes was a complicated business, he of all people should know.  
  
A lump rose in his throat. Static where it was, the particular carp, it was Jane Eyre, he guessed if he got all the names right, Shalimar was always creative in naming things; didn't join her friends as they swished back and forth languidly.  
  
Jesse had felt alone earlier, but now he wasn't sure. He was struck by how crazy it was; it was as if the fish knew what he was thinking. And feeling. Funny.  
  
He had been up for hours; the pain woke him up in the middle of the night and he hadn't known what to do except to lie in bed. When the worst had finally passed, he dared not go back to sleep. He'd rather stay awake fighting the pain instead of trapped in the throes of restless slumber when it came. He might no be so luck next time; he might not even wake up.  
  
Footsteps. Behind him. Slow and deliberate, he listened half-heartedly as the sound of feet scraping against the shiny tiles grew louder and louder; slowly and purposefully, as if daring Jesse to take a guess who it was approaching him. Well, whoever it was, Jesse wished he or she would go away.  
  
When the footfalls finally stopped, Jesse stiffened.  
  
"Jesse."  
  
Shalimar. Figures. She who had never failed to wake up at such ungodly hour every day.  
  
"Hey Shal," Jesse said, still keeping his back to her.  
  
Complete silence. Jesse painfully held his breath for long seconds, waiting for what she was going to say next. Please God don't let her come near me. Please. Her eyes. He simply couldn't bear to see what would be reflected in those expressive eyes of hers if he dared to look into them.  
  
But she did nothing of the sort. All of a sudden, Jesse felt a weight leaning against his hunched back, accompanied shortly by the tickle of long sleek hair against his neck. He felt the weight suddenly shift, the muscles pressed against his spine contracting for a few seconds, before relaxing as Shalimar drew in a deep breath.  
  
They shared a moment of intimate silence, both content in their own worlds, conveying more than unspoken words of love and comfort, each offering assurance and support, but of different kinds.  
  
"Wanna help me fix breakfast?" Shalimar asked quietly with a gentleness Jesse had never heard in her before.  
  
**********  
  
"How did he take the news?" Brennan asked softly.  
  
At the dining table, Emma was threatening to throw a piece of her baked potato at Shalimar, and Adam's eyes softened as he watched Jesse throw his head backward and laugh. Then his face darkened. Brennan could see why. His equally sharp eyes didn't miss the way Jesse would close his eyes once in a while, as if in pain, and the way his surrogate brother's face would go slack, almost expressionless at times, before returning to its normal animated mode.  
  
Brennan was trying not to show it, but he was worried about Jesse, really worried, and he simply could not NOT do anything about it.  
  
"Not very well," Adam answered simply. After watching the other three squabble around some more, he turned to face Brennan, his forehead creased. Jesse had indeed accepted the news as calmly as he possible could yesterday, although Adam saw the way Jesse's hands shook when he wanted to give him a shot of sedatives so he could calm him down. What is he thinking? Adam wondered as he gazed again at Jesse, his young face tight and visibly tense as he tried to force himself to eat, to keep his strength up. Adam had tried his best to remove as much of the tumor as possible yesterday with radiotherapy, enough to allow Jesse to still eat whatever he wanted without aggravating his condition, but Adam would have very much preferred it if Jesse had followed his advice and stayed in bed. Bt he knew perfectly well Jesse could be as stubborn as a mule if he wanted to and he just didn't have the heart to tell him no.  
  
"He doesn't have much time," Adam said finally.  
  
Brennan's face went tight. "I'll find her." They listened as Jesse laughed again at something Shalimar or Emma had apparently said, a familiar sound, but minus the usual cheerfulness; something was missing in it, and it hurt them to know, to detect that unmistakable tremble of pain in his laugh.  
  
"I'll find her," Brennan whispered again, but this time to himself.  
  
Author's Notes: Guys, I am so so sorry for the late updates. . . and sorry for the very short chapter too! I'm in the middle of my A-Levels, I sooo need to score As on these papers man.Thanks for being patient!!! 


	10. brd10

"Jesse, you really shouldn't be walking around you know," Emma's voice was nearing the brink of annoyance. She had always been a very patient person, never resorting to using force to get what she wanted, but at the moment she was seriously considering unleashing some telepathic blast just to get the young molecular to quit being so. . .active. Which was definitely not how one should act after going through the third radiation therapy after 2 days.  
  
It wasn't as if Jesse wasn't feeling any pain. Indeed he was, and a great amount of it too. Emma of all people should know. But it was as though he had pushed all his pain and discomfort to the back of his mind and resumed his daily activities at a seemingly normal pace. Emma was begin to wonder if he had drawn himself to some kind of self-denial or something.  
  
"Emma, I've got too much to do rather than sitting around doing nothing," Jesse snapped at last, his face pale and drawn. The smudges under his eyes were frightening her. He had worked out earlier at the dojo, much to her chagrin, but that stubborn streak in him. . . Despite his fragile condition, he still managed to pack quite a punch and it took all of Emma to restrain herself from physically or telepathically, whichever would have worked best, strapping him down to his bed. But the message he sent every time she tried to get close was clear.  
  
Back off.  
  
Emma swallowed hard.  
  
Back off, Emma. Leave me be.  
  
She had obliged his wishes, though unwillingly. And now he was working on upgrading the Sanctuary's security system. But she doubted there was going to be any real progress; judging from how worn out and wiped he looked.  
  
But Jesse didn't care.  
  
Brennan and Shalimar were out tracking down the mutant who had done this to him; he had begged them to take him along, well, he should have known better than ask. Rejected flat then and there; and he was forced to go through another round of radiotherapy. Not that he wasn't grateful for it, the alternative would have been unbearable. Drugs would have been unacceptable.  
  
But looking at Emma's tight face, a brief flash of sadness washed over him. He understood perfectly well why Emma was so damn worried about him. He could see it too. What was written on Adam's face when the scan results came. How tense he was when he operated the high-energy ionizing radiation machine to destroy the cancerous cells in his body. For the third time. Modern technology could not possibly explain why his tumor kept coming back. Only God knew why those beams of electrons or neutrons or whatever failed to destroy it for good.  
  
Tears blurred his eyes. The words scrolling down the screen in front of him were washed in red; and he blinked furiously.  
  
He was not going to feel sorry for himself. He was not going to put his friends, his family through any kind of misery, or pain.  
  
Let me be the only one to suffer. Please. It's my pain, my suffering. Not theirs.  
  
And speaking of pain, he could feel the cancerous cells regenerating in his body. A lump rose in his throat, numbing and sickening him.  
  
A woman's face flashed through the eyes of his mind; a beautiful, enticing girl with flowing black locks and flashing green eyes, beautiful but deadly. He closed his eyes, trying to push the image out of his mind. But still he could see her; smiling her cold, cold smile, beckoning, alluring, calling him. The intrusion was almost physical, and he shivered.  
  
He could feel the sickness growing inside him, like fire, burning, licking up his spine with every breath he took.  
  
Is this the end? Is this how it's all going to end?  
  
Someone was gently calling out to him. Begging to be let inside, to be allowed to get close. Emma.  
  
Let me in, Jesse.  
  
Through tears, he could see his friend standing a few feet away, looking as miserable as he felt. Her auburn hair was disheveled, and her face was so tight with emotions she looked like she was about to burst. And Jesse's heart wrenched in his chest when he saw the tears trailing down her pale cheeks. She was there in the room with him, when the horrid electron beam ran through him, silently offering her support, holding out her hand, just waiting for him to take it.  
  
Emma. She had always been there for him.  
  
True, he had known Shalimar way before he met Emma, but they have grown close. She was a part of him now, his family.  
  
Please, Jesse. Let me in. Let me help you.  
  
Jesse lowered his head, defeated.  
  
Already he was causing someone he loved pain.  
  
He knew he had always been weak, always had and would always be. He kept denying it, kept telling himself it wasn't true, that he was strong. Too bad it had taken the cancer to prove to him otherwise.  
  
You're not weak, Jesse.  
  
Jesse's eyes lifted a little.  
  
Really, Emma?  
  
Emma was walking slowly toward him, still unsure if he wanted her to.  
  
No. You're very strong, Jesse. Not just physically. But you're a good person at heart.  
  
You're not saying this to make me feel better, are you, Emma? He could see Emma in his head, talking to him gently when she was actually still a few feet away from him.  
  
But soon she got closer and closer, close enough for him to lean his head against her. He buried his face into her and cried. 


	11. brd11

That's weird, Jesse thought. Well, in a good way, I suppose.  
  
But still he was confused. This morning when he checked, the alarms were still all wrong; and he had been meaning to fix the security system once and for all after his radiotherapy session. And now that he was feeling well, refreshed and free from pain, even if it was only for a short while, he was looking forward to the task.  
  
It turned out not to be any task at all. The system had somehow fixed itself and there was nothing on the radar at the moment, no beeping alarm signal, no big flashing 'Intruder!!!' sign, nada.  
  
Well. Jesse straightened up and crossed his arms across his chest. That's- good. I guess.  
  
Uncertainly, he shrugged and turned the computer off. He flicked a glance at the thin, metal cuff circling his wrist, satisfied at the big red zero staring back at him. It was actually a monitoring device Adam had just invented, its in-built ceramic-based detectors able to withstand the radioactive beams it emitted through his skin, into his blood. It was one of its kind, and just about the fastest device that could detect the presence of cancerous cells, if any, without having to go through X-rays. So right now, Jesse was clean. For now.  
  
He checked the security system again, which he had put on stand-by a few days ago. Satisfied, he lifted the bar and got himself out of the station. He looked at the sensor on his wrist again and wondered when the reading was going to change; the big zero percent was scaring him, taunting him, telling him that it wasn't going to be zero for long.  
  
******************* "She's getting away! Brennan!" Shalimar snapped furiously, and she instantly broke into a run, her long golden hair flying about in an entangled mass. They had followed a lead that brought them to a nice, two- storey house in the suburbs just to find the mutant GS agent they were looking for flee from them again, for the second time, a fact which infuriated her, another successful capture for the record. Great, Genomex scores another. Just great.  
  
Well, Shalimar wasn't going to let her get away this time. Not on my watch, she thought. And with that in mind, she leaped.  
  
"Shalimar!" Brennan yelled, his long coat billowing behind him as he increased speed to his footfalls, his eyes widening in horror. True, Shalimar was brash, and overly protective when it came to people she cared for, but this was suicide; even she should know that. He was still a few feet away when Shalimar spread-eagled. "Shalimar, stop!!!"  
  
A few nanoseconds later, Shalimar's booted right foot viciously caught the dark-haired woman on her temple, sending her reeling and the very sick mutant she was half-carrying to the ground. But the carcinogenic elemental was quick to steady herself on her feet and she braced herself for another punch; Shalimar was fighting blindly and Elaine had no doubt she would win.  
  
Either she was unaware of the danger she was in or that she just didn't care, Shalimar let her feral side show and with a snarl she advanced again, throwing punch after punch, kick after kick; so swift their movements were blurry. But Elaine had the upper hand, having managed to knock Shalimar off her feet, sending her crashing flat on her back on the ground.  
  
Brennan's eyes widened as a resplendent red aura emanated from Elaine's upraised hand. A cold look passed in her eyes as she lowered her hand to the struggling feral's body.  
  
*******************  
  
Jesse Kilmartin stared glassy-eyed at the monitor. Damn supersonic radar.  
  
His fingers flew over the keyboard soundlessly. C'mon man. . .this can't be happening! Hello? I'm supposed to be the expert here! How can this happen again?  
  
Since he had discovered what could have just been a glitch in the Sanctuary's system a few days ago, his mind had not been at rest. Not that it would have been if this mess with the alarm hadn't come up; he did have life-threatening issues to think about anyway. But still, working had always helped him clear his mind. And somehow he had also unconsciously instilled the belief in his subconscious that it would at least take his mind off the pain.  
  
And when everything looked normal to him that morning, he thought the glitch had been fixed.  
  
Jesse cursed silently. He closed his eyes for a few second, before opening them slowly. Still the radar was telling him the same thing. A large red orb had appeared all over the Sanctuary, enveloping their home in what looked like a giant red ozone layer. Still, he couldn't pinpoint where the waves were coming from.  
  
What could I have done wrong? Should I alert Adam?  
  
No, he told himself. It has been like this for days and nothing happened. Just fix it like you always do, Jesse. You can do it.  
  
He rebooted the whole system and reconfigured everything, annoyed that he was doing the same thing he had done over and over again for the past few days but didn't seem to work. Well, it did seem to him like it had worked this morning.  
  
Just when Jesse was about to change the access code, he felt a pang of pain in his stomach. He tried to ignore it and concentrate on his work, but the persistent ache lingered, burning and intensifying with every passing minute. He kept an arm pressed against his abdomen and that at least gave him relief.  
  
But not for long. Jesse gritted his teeth and leaned back in his seat. A quick peek at his wrist told him that the number was climbing. The pain got even worse and he couldn't believe his eyes; the tumor had regenerated itself in the matter of hours, and now it had reached 60% of its original size before it was destroyed through radiotherapy just the night before. It was 50% a half hour ago.  
  
A lump rose in Jesse's throat. The tumor was growing fast inside him, so fast he couldn't even catch his breath.  
  
I don't need this, he thought angrily. A loud beep from the computer caught his attention. Jesse slowly pushed himself forward, an arm still locked around his belly.  
  
The red orb had enlarged, covering most of the waters around the mountains. If he thought the orb had looked big before, now it was humongous; and according to the sensors, almost 2000 square miles around the Sanctuary were supposed to be in the red now, which literally meant that by now, they should have been surrounded by a fleet of fighter jets or war ships three times the size of a normal battalion. The radar was now blinking furiously, in time with his racing heart.  
  
Frantically, Jesse activated the real video security camera and seconds later, numerous close-ups of the Sanctuary and its surrounding areas taken from the air and below flickered one by one across the screen. Nothing. No lurking submarines, no periscopes poking through the water surface, no laser guns trained on the Sanctuary. The yellow sea water was lapping gently at the rocks, and seagulls flew feely in the air.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Jesse hissed to himself.  
  
Everything was fine this morning! What could have gone wrong? He wondered frantically. This is not normal.  
  
The radar was blinking furiously next to him, flashing red on and off with each passing second. Something was nagging at the back of his mind. . . trying to claw its way out. But what could it be?  
  
He stared at the sensor again, watching as it emitted brilliant red lights across the workroom. Watching as the light it gave out hit everything in its way, bouncing of the wall. . . passing through the glass door. . . glowing against the antique Balinese vase near the couch. . .the light it gave out. . .  
  
Then he had it.  
  
Jesse's eyes went wide and his mouth fell open.  
  
Could it be?  
  
He bolted upright and started typing furiously, frantically. And as he entered the last command into the computer to process, he could feel his heart slam into his ribcage with every gasp of breath he took. Cold sweat dripped down his face. The sickness was getting to him, he knew. But he had to know.  
  
When the data scrolled down the screen, Jesse could feel every breath leave him in sudden cold blasts. Everything was starting to fit in now. How could he have not thought of this sooner?  
  
He finally realized what his mistake was. He had been too busy trying to figure where all the waves were coming from, waves so radioactive they seemed to have come from nuclear weapons. But he was wrong.  
  
The waves didn't come from a fighter jet. Or a war ship. Or a torpedo launcher.  
  
It came from me, he realized sickly. The waves were coming from me.  
  
Sanctuary was not sensing the waves from outside, it was emitting waves from inside. It works both ways, Jesse thought crazily. Now he remembered Brennan and Shalimar discussing how the mutant who had done this to him managed to get to the other New Mutants she had inflicted with the disease before they could. She could sense it. She could sense the waves, and where they came from, he thought in horror, realization finally dawning on him.  
  
That was why there was no sign of alarm this morning; he had just gone through radiotherapy and there were no cancerous cells present in his body.  
  
And now the cancer had come back, Jesse knew and it was telling Elaine where he was.  
  
Oh God.  
  
He was leading her straight to the Sanctuary.  
  
"Genomex," Jesse Kilmartin whispered. 


	12. brd12

"Oh no you don't," Shalimar muttered under her breath; her sharp eyes locked on the reddish tendrils flickering from Elaine's fingers, as threatening as the murderous gaze in the elemental's cold green eyes. Her timing needed to be perfect, Shalimar knew and as she raised her knee to block the otherwise inevitable attack she hoped Brennan could read her moves; they were most fortunate to have practiced the moves just this morning in the dojo. She could only hope Brennan remembered it.  
  
Indeed he did. As Shalimar catapulted backward, her long legs lashed out 360 degrees in the air, she deliberately drove the pointed edge of her left boot into Elaine's exposed torso. Exerting more than a little pressure, Shalimar gritted her teeth as she drilled harder into the woman's side, forcing her down.  
  
Elaine cried out in pain and as the ground rushed up to meet her, she slapped both her palms on the asphalt. The red tendrils died out, but the fire in her still hadn't gone out. Not yet. Out the corner of her eyes she could see the male elemental approaching, crackling flickers of electrical energy crawling up his arms.  
  
You're not gonna get me, she vowed. No one has ever brought me down. No one ever will.  
  
Brennan rushed forward with his forearm raised. A quick clean chop to the back of the neck would put this entire useless squabble to an end. Time was running out. Jesse was depending on them to get Elaine back and that was what he intended to do.  
  
But what Elaine did next was totally unexpected. One moment she was there, gasping on the ground holding her side in pain, the next she was rolling on the ground. Brennan's karate chop hit nothing but air and he was lucky he caught himself before falling face-first to the ground.  
  
Elaine stopped her roll a few yards away and painstakingly got onto her feet, breathing harshly. There was no way she could use her mutant powers, if she tried to on one of them, the other would be all over her in a second. For a second it seemed to Elaine that she was trapped.  
  
"Give it up, Elaine," Shalimar spat out. "It's over."  
  
"Hah!" She scoffed, brushing a stray lock of black hair off her forehead. "Says you. You're Mutant X. I bet you think you lots are a couple of reckless renegades fighting for the side of the good, don't you? Don't you think it's time you get over your romantic idealistic propaganda and face the facts huh? What good can your safehouses do for the New Mutants now?"  
  
Shalimar could feel her blood boiling. "Look we don't have time for chitchat okay? Now why don't you come with us and we'll settle this matter once and for all?"  
  
"What matter?" Elaine rolled her eyes. "All I see now is a couple of rugrats who're trying too hard to be heroes who just happen to be in my way. What's the deal huh? Can't wait your turn?" She turned her icy gaze toward Brennan. "I remember you. The club, right?"  
  
"And I remember you too," Brennan spoke softly but there was nothing gentle in the glare he was sending her way. A ball of energy formed on his out- held palm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You choose."  
  
"Ah," Elaine drawled in delight. "My poor baby's feeling poorly isn't he? That's why you came! You thought you could get me so I could save your friend." She threw her head backward and let out a delicious laugh.  
  
"You-" Shalimar started forward, her eyes blazing angrily but Brennan was quick to grab her arm.  
  
"You know, you two are very amusing. I'm afraid I have other urgent matters to attend to and I simply can't waste any more of my time playing cat and mouse with the two of you." She stood her ground, parting her legs slightly.  
  
If you want me, come and get me, that was the message Brennan could read in her eyes.  
  
"Bring it on." 


	13. brd13

Blindly, Jesse literally tore his usually immaculate room apart, rummaging through clothes and books and all his other belongings, his groping hands grabbing whatever he laid his touch on, piling it all up into one huge mountain on his bed. Next to the pile was an open suitcase. His intention had initially been taking with him as little as possible, the things he absolutely needed for he doubted he would even have a need for them later.  
  
But now, he couldn't help thinking that he should take everything with him. He couldn't shake the feeling that wherever he was going after this, he was not coming back.  
  
Is this running away? Am I running away? Is that what I'm doing?  
  
Question after question bombarded his already troubled, disturbed mind; Jesse felt as if he was slowly going crazy. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he would, he MUST take care of things, only one thought failed not to linger in his head-  
  
He had no idea what to do.  
  
He pulled his drawer open forcefully, intent to empty its contents. His keys, his comb, his wallet.everything lay inside it in perfect order- but Jesse was determined. He had finally decided that he wouldn't leave any sign of him behind in Sanctuary, no sir he was not. He couldn't afford it. If things didn't go as planned-  
  
His friends. They were the important people to him in his life.  
  
"Oh God," Jesse breathed out, rubbing a weary hand over his face. Balling a fist against his mouth, he closed his eyes just as stabs of pain hammered his abdomen. For a second, he thought of Adam, Adam could help. Adam could help make it all go away. He always did.  
  
"NO." It came out a whisper. "No help."  
  
He had to do it alone. He didn't know how but he was going to. There was no other way. Staying here even a minute longer put everyone in jeopardy and he couldn't risk that. He couldn't that to Adam, and to Mutant X. His loyalty demanded him to do this by himself.  
  
*************  
  
Jesse risked a steep half hour in the laboratory, painstakingly downloading all the information he needed, transcribing the genetic coding into a few DNA samples. No one but him knew what the samples were for, but it was the heart of his plan. He was alone in the Sanctuary; Adam had met up with a fellow geneticist to seek for help earlier that morning. How ironic it was Adam had left him alone despite Jesse's condition but when desperation demanded more on his time and attention, Adam wouldn't hesitate, not when one of his protégés' lives was at stake.  
  
The tag at his wrist was flashing blinking red lights. Jesse was in agony, but he put a lid on it and withstanding excruciating pain, he pushed his way through the red hazy cobwebs threatening to cloud his senses and continued with the laborious work.  
  
Next, he spent a couple of minutes typing furiously on the computer and he inserted a blank shiny disk into the disk drive. At last everything was finished. He had got everything he wanted and needed, he hoped.  
  
After everything was ready, it was time for the next stage. But he took some time to go back to his room and as he stood in the middle of his room, empty except for a framed photograph of the four of them taken during their summer getaway on Catalina Island the year before, he felt a heaviness in his heart, a numbness which seemed stuck in his throat, and for a second, Jesse thought he was going to suffocate.  
  
Take care, guys, he thought. Shalimar, Emma and Brennan were all smiling in the picture, arms thrown across each other's shoulders while Jesse himself was trying his best to maintain a serious pose. But there was a hint of a treacherous smile tugging at the edges of his lips and he recalled how fun the day out had been for all of them; they had had a rough time before that, him especially. His father-  
  
No, don't think about that. You've got enough to worry about than to kick yourself in the head for trusting the man you have spent the last 27 years of life loving, for whose attention you couldn't stop yearning-  
  
You're wasting time, Jesse.  
  
He had to agree with that little voice in his head and with heavy but determined steps, he marched slowly toward the hangar where they kept Double Helix. It would do. It would fly him to where he wanted to go and he could send it back to Sanctuary in auto-pilot mode, no worries there.  
  
As Jesse Kilmartin gave the Sanctuary one last, longing look, he made a vow.  
  
And if I succeeded- if I managed to go through this-  
  
Jesse bit his lower lip, his eyes narrowed as he steeled himself against the ever-increasing pain.  
  
I will come back. 


	14. brd14

Brennan's eyes narrowed. This woman was starting to get on his nerves. He didn't know much about her background, hell he practically knew nothing about her, but she definitely was pissing him off. First she poisoned Jesse, next she tried to poison Shalimar.  
  
Lady you may be pretty but you're definitely going home, he thought, activating his internal energy; he could feel the potential difference rising, trickling down his fingers, just begging to be released. With us.  
  
"Brennan, be careful," Shalimar whispered anxiously.  
  
"No need to," he spat out. With a snarl he projected a tremendous blast of energy , aiming at the ground at Elaine's feet. He was just about to smirk in satisfaction when Elaine let out a snarl of her own, very much like Brennan's as if she was mocking him and with lightning moves, she propelled herself backward in two swift back flips. Brennan stood there in disbelief as Elaine cackled gleefully. The nerve of this woman!!!  
  
"Is that the best you can do?" She taunted, her left eyebrow lilting upward in one delicate arc. Shalimar's jaw dropped open.  
  
"Why don't you come closer, Sparky? Show me what you're really made of," she said challengingly, a haughty look in her amazing green eyes. "Or are you too scared? In that case, your girlfriend can fight for you then. At least she doesn't fight like a girl-"  
  
Brennan's blood boiled. He wasn't by nature a hasty man but he wished he could just strangle her right there and then. He knew he had to take her down; he didn't know how but he was gonna do it. Just watch out for her hands, he told himself. They're nasty, baby.  
  
He moved forward and lashed out a long leg which caught her at the knees, sweeping Elaine off her feet; and a her knees buckled, Brennan twisted his body sideways just as she made an instinctive grab at him to keep from falling; and she unceremoniously crashed to the ground. Brennan prepared to stomp a feet onto the small of her back to keep her immobile, but she was as agile as she was nasty. Elaine rolled away from him the second time that day, propping a knee on the ground and back lashed at him with a back kick of her own which caught Brennan on the shin.  
  
Withstanding pain, Brennan grabbed her ankle before she had the chance to retract and flipped her onto her back. Elaine grunted as the full force of Brennan's wrench sent her crashing to the ground once again, this time flat on her back. Her eyes narrowed when she realized the seriousness of the predicament she was in. If she let herself get captured by these two goons, she wouldn't be able to lead Genomex to the Sanctuary, which was something she really wanted to do. She knew full well that they were going to bring her to their Sanctuary anyway but she didn't want to be brought there as a prisoner. No way. What she really wanted was to storm the place, capture all four of the New Mutants that old professor, Mason Eckhart's sworn enemy, had vowed to protect and place them all in pods. That would be the ultimate, sweetest success for her. And it wouldn't happen if she let this great bear of a man take her down.  
  
Brennan threw himself on her and wrestled with her on the ground. Under normal circumstances, he would have loved being in that position; him pinning down a perfectly beautiful, squirming girl, but this lady was a trained killer, and he wasn't going to take chances. Forcefully, he slammed his palms onto her wrists, felt her soft flesh scrape against the hard, sharp tar and at last she was writhing on the ground, unable to move.  
  
"Stop it! Stop struggling!" Brennan shouted but still she bucked wildly under him. Her fingers tried to claw the hands Brennan was using to hold her down but to his relief, they could only rake the air uselessly. "Shalimar! A little help here!"  
  
Shalimar flopped down near the writhing Elaine's head, brandishing a subdermal governor and stared down at the Elemental coldly. She flicked a hand at Brennan and with a mighty burst of strength, he pulled one wrist up and forced her to lie down sideways so as to expose the back of her neck to Shalimar, so that they could finally subdue her AND her deadly touch for good, even if temporarily. He felt a sense of triumph when Elaine finally went limp, as if all the struggles had gone out of her. Only her breaths came out heavy and ragged; Brennan eased up a little, he WAS by far heavier than her, him sitting down on her had probably roughed her up to the point of suffocation.  
  
Elaine lay quietly as Shalimar grabbed a hold of her hair and yanked it up. She waited. She kept still.  
  
She felt the sudden cold of something metallic pressed against the soft skin of her neck. Still she waited.  
  
Next was the slight pressure, slight push as Shalimar prepared to pull the trigger, to blast a damn governor into her. That was what she had been waiting for.  
  
Brennan's hold on her wrists had slackened slightly, thanks to her sudden lack of struggling. She had known that he would go for it, guys always did because they always thought the girls would always succumb to the least amount of stress and tension in the end. Typical chauvinistic misconception of women. Especially when the woman in question was Elaine Perraudin.  
  
With a sudden burst of new-found energy, she let out an ear-splitting shriek before lashing out her pinned arms and legs forcefully. Taken by surprise, Brennan lost his grip on her and also his precious balance and he found himself thrown backward before crashing down to the ground. Shalimar who was just about to pull the trigger had the governor knocked out of her hand, and she watched, shocked, as it spun in the air, before landing in a bush about twenty feet away.  
  
Free at last, Elaine scrambled clumsily to her feet. Her face burned, one thing she hated the most in the world was to back down from a fight, but she knew, this was one fight she couldn't win. She broke into a run.  
  
"She's getting away!" Shalimar yelled and began to chase her.  
  
Brennan slammed a hand down on the tar in sheer frustration before jumping to his feet. Elaine was running fast, past her fallen fellow GS agents, toward the Cherokee. She was just a few feet away from the MPV before she stopped and turned. She smirked.  
  
Shalimar was about to catch up with her when Elaine procured something from inside her suit. In her fury, Shalimar couldn't see what it was. The only thing that mattered was to bring Elaine down. And make sure she stayed down this time.  
  
Brennan's jaw dropped. "Shalimar!!!" He threw himself forward, tackling Shalimar around the waist, and he protected her with his body just as Elaine threw the object in her hand in their direction.  
  
A few nanoseconds later, a loud explosion ripped through the air, and Shalimar couldn't help but scream as a rush of fire swept over their heads, missing them by mere inches. But the scorching heat was almost more than she could bear and she trembled in Brennan's arms.  
  
By the time the smoke subsided enough for their vision to clear, they could only watch helplessly as the Cherokee sped off, leaving a trail of dust and billowing exhaust fumes in its wake, disappearing down the freeway.  
  
The hand grenade had gone off just a few feet away, and they were extremely lucky to get out of it all unscathed but Shalimar was filled with too much fury to notice.  
  
"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, the feral in her roaring. The fire in her eyes flared angrily as she kicked at the dust at her feet in sheer frustration.  
  
Brennan carefully, tentatively laid a hand on her bare arm. "Shal." His voice was unusually gentle.  
  
Shalimar lowered her head, her hands on her hips, her chest heaving with each raspy breath. She was visibly shaking, and he could feel the tremor of her muscles under his fingers. "Shal."  
  
At last she lifted her head, and Brennan froze. Her eyes, shining gold, were brimming with tears. She stared at Brennan imploringly  
  
"How-" she choked back a sob. "- how are we going to save Jesse now?" She whispered, her voice so small and broken he could barely make out the words. Jesse.  
  
Brennan's heart broke. He swallowed the lump which had suddenly formed in his throat. The harsh reality was reflected in the crystal of Shalimar's tears; Jesse was dying, and they had let the only person in the world who could save him go.  
  
And for the first time since he had joined Mutant X, he felt fear. Not for himself, but for his friends. What if they could not get back to Jesse in time to save him? Would Jesse be the first one of them to go?  
  
Brennan pulled Shalimar close and hugged her trembling body tightly.  
  
Man, we're in trouble. We're in DEEP trouble. 


	15. brd15

The Helix had been up in the air for more than fifteen minutes when Jesse felt the sudden urge to cough. It hurt him too much to sit upright in his usual seat so he had decided to sit down on the floor of the Helix, huddled against the comforting metal body of the ship.  
  
Jesse fought not to cough; he had been sitting still for the past fifteen minutes because he simply didn't want to move. And now I've got to cough. Great. The tickle in his throat was getting more and more unbearable. He guessed he could say the same for the pain mauling his insides. His stomach was killing him.  
  
So what else is new, he thought tiredly as he leaned his head back against the wall, listening at the familiar droning sound of the engine. The rest of Mutant X back at the Sanctuary would have no way of knowing where the Helix was heading; hell they wouldn't even know where the Helix was. He'd cleverly deactivated the automatic self-tracking device. That would also mean they wouldn't be able to get a signal from his com-link.  
  
Satisfied, Jesse closed his eyes, willing himself against the ever- increasing pain. Hmm. I wonder what the guys are doing now. Wonder if they know I'm gone.Shalimar must be going batty-  
  
Jesse couldn't finish his train of thoughts when a sudden coughing fit overcame him. Automatically he raised his fist to his lips just as soon as rushes of air exploded from his lungs in violent bursts of coughs. His whole body jarred and it sent a fresh new pain rippling from his abdomen, spreading through the rest of his shaking form.  
  
As he coughed and coughed, Jesse automatically switched his mind off the pain; it was better not to think of how much he was hurting but the taste of copper which had suddenly filled his mouth got his brain running again. What the hell?  
  
Slowly, Jesse lowered his fist. Flecks of blood smeared the whitened knuckles of his clenched fist.  
  
Jesse stared at the blood. And kept staring.  
  
****************  
  
"Adam. We lost her." Brennan couldn't hide the dejection in his voice as he spoke into the com-link, Shalimar right beside him, staring listlessly out the front window. Then it suddenly occurred to him that Jesse might hear him too back at the Sanctuary. They almost had her, the only person in the world who could help Jesse, and they blew it. And Jesse might be very well listening in on the conversation right now as he delivered the terrible news. Shit.  
  
"Brennan." Adam spoke his name urgently.  
  
"Uh, is Jesse there?" He asked guiltily.  
  
"That's what I wanted to tell you, Brennan. Jesse's gone." Brennan's blood ran cold. What does he mean Jesse's gone? He can't be- He turned slowly toward Shalimar and she too, was staring at him, a horrified expression on her face.  
  
"What?" Brennan's horrified whisper carried itself through the com-link and back at the Sanctuary, Adam was momentarily puzzled at what could have spooked Brennan so. Then he realized his blunder and hurriedly corrected himself for Brennan and Shalimar's sakes.  
  
"No, I'm not saying he's DEAD, no, nothing of the sort!" Adam said in a rush. "I'm just saying that he's not here. He's gone."  
  
*********  
  
Black spots danced in front of his eyes. He'd just climbed the last of the stairs of Safehouse 8, the third place on his list. He had made 2 stops earlier; at Safehouses 3 and 11, both empty and perfect for his trap, only if it could really work. Right now he wasn't so sure.  
  
Now he was winded; and in terrible pain.  
  
I'm going to pass out, he realized numbly. He clung to the railing, to prevent from falling. I am sooo going to pass out.  
  
His vision blurred and for the second time in that short week, he feared that he was going to fall down the stairs again. And maybe this time he would not be lucky enough to wake up.  
  
Jesse kept a hand clasped to his stomach and struggled to stand. I have to stand. Come on, Jesse, get up. You HAVE to get up.  
  
Please, just let me rest, he begged himself. Just for a while.  
  
No.  
  
For all he knew, it could only be minutes till the GS agents stormed the place. He needed to be ready and he hoped the device he'd planted at both the previous safehouses could do their job as deterrent, and that would throw the GSA off for a while and buy him some time; but only for a while. Soon, he knew, soon the silent killer in him would grow and grow out of proportion, practically screaming out to Evie to come and get him and no high-tech deterring devices or false broadband transmitters could save him from her.  
  
His eyes longingly settled on his backpack sitting on the table. He'd taken some drugs with him from the Sanctuary. Though he promised to himself a long time ago that he'd stay off any kinds of drugs but he'd held out as long as he could. Adam hadn't been there when he left to give him the much needed radioactive therapy so he had no options but to take the strong painkillers with him. No. He wasn't going to use it just yet. The pain was a motivation, a motivation for him to keep going. And he definitely needed concentration; drugs would only make things worse for him at the moment. He had to finish this.  
  
Just a little bit more, Jess. Then it will all be over.  
  
**********  
  
"How could you have let this happen, Adam? How could you have let him go just like that?" Shalimar snapped at him as she strode briskly into the lab where Adam was surveying the mess Jesse had made before he disappeared. Brennan was quick to tap her on the arm from behind.  
  
"Adam wasn't here, Shal. He couldn't have known Jesse would just take off like that." He spoke gently but Adam could detect the hint of worry tingeing the edge of his voice. Adam could practically hear the wheels in the Elemental's brain whirring as he processed the new and old information. Jesse's deteriorating condition, Elaine getting away, and now Jesse disappearing.  
  
Shalimar growled and raked her fingers through her disheveled hair, clearly frustrated. What could have possessed Jesse to go running off like that? Then she froze.  
  
"Maybe he didn't leave on his own free will. Maybe he was attacked- Kidnapped! Where's Emma?!" Shalimar was practically shouting.  
  
"Relax, Shalimar. Emma's fine, she's checking out the safety camera right this moment, to see if we've got anything on tape. In fact she was the one to find that Jesse was missing-he'd taken the Helix and then she frantically called me up-"  
  
"Jesse took the HELIX?" Brennan's jaw dropped.  
  
"Yes, the logbook in the computer showed it. But unfortunately Jesse deactivated the tracking device on the Helix and I haven't been able to get a signal from his com-link-so right at this moment, we have no way of telling where he could be," Adam said seriously. "And since we don't have the Helix, it looks like we're not going anywhere."  
  
"I think that's just changed," Shalimar said suddenly. "Look!" She pointed excitedly at the surveillance computer.  
  
"It's the Helix," Brennan breathed out. He couldn't believe his eyes. It showed up on the camera as it had come within 5 miles of the Sanctuary and the best thing of it all-  
  
"Jesse's in there!" A grin broke Adam's face. The red dot blinking furiously on the screen was enough to tell him that Jesse was alive; and he could feel a heavy rush of relief washed over him. Shalimar was already running out the door.  
  
"Hey, what's going on down there?" Emma called from upstairs.  
  
"Jesse's back!" Shalimar shouted excitedly. "Come on!" She quickly slid open the hangar door, her heart racing as she approached the Helix. Punching in the access code, she practically leaped in when the door slowly flapped open. "Jesse?"  
  
Her smile faded.  
  
There was no sign of Jesse at all.  
  
Puzzled, Shalimar swept her eyes across the cabin. She craned her neck to see if Jesse was sitting in the captain's seat in front; but he wasn't.  
  
By then, the rest of the team had arrived and upon seeing the empty cabin, wore the same puzzled expression on their faces.  
  
"Com-link signal's showing he's still here," Adam said in a hushed voice, holding up his Palm Pilot for everyone to see.  
  
"He is," Brennan spoke suddenly. He picked something up from the floor at one far corner of the ship and held it up. "At least, a part of him still is."  
  
Emma instantly recognized the shiny metal object in Brennan's hand. "That's Jesse's ring-but how?"  
  
Brennan fingered the ring. "It's coated with something.wait a minute."  
  
"Blood," Shalimar said flatly. She could smell it from afar. "The ring's got Jesse's blood on it." 


	16. brd16

Author's Notes: Thank you thank you thank you to all you wonderful reviewers! Love you guys!!! And now as I have promised- a new chapter, just for you. (Actually I finished this bit 2 days ago but the server was down so I wasn't able to upload it right away-please don't be mad at me!!)  
  
Spoilers: The Meaning of Death (just the mere mention of it!)  
  
"We need to find him!" Shalimar said frantically. "Elaine will get to him if we don't get to him first!" She paced back and forth furiously; unaware that she was letting her feral side show for she looked every bit like a very angry lioness with her blond tresses flying about her face and with a fierce scowl like that on her face, everyone steered as far away as possible from her.  
  
"Adam!"  
  
"We mustn't panic, okay? Now let us think clearly for a second here; why would Jesse suddenly leave and where would he go?" Adam massaged his forehead while they all gathered around their leader, staring at him anxiously. Things were getting out of his control and he didn't like it even one bit. He had to admit he was furious at Jesse for leaving without telling; that was one habit all his protégés seemed to share, they always disappeared without any news in times of distress but would usually come back once they were calmed down. He always assumed it was a trait all young people had. They really had a funny way of taking care of problems and Adam had never really gotten the hang of it. But as angry as he was, he couldn't help the sickening feeling of worry tightening his chest; Jesse was in no condition to go anywhere, let alone by himself. He hoped Emma and Brennan were having more luck with the computers. Knowing Jesse, he'd probably have deactivated every sensory device that could lead them to him.  
  
Shalimar forced herself to take a deep breath, trying her best to calm down. Why wouldn't Jesse want them to know where he was going?  
  
And where could he be now? Shalimar was worried sick. Adam had spent the last ten minutes inventorying the laboratory and feverishly straightening things out; inspecting every piece of glassware and beakers Jesse had left on the experimenting bench. With an expert eye, Adam examined every solution and reagent bottle which Jesse had used before he left.  
  
"What was he working on Adam?" Shalimar asked in a hushed voice. Adam lifted a Petri dish with his gloved hand gently and scrutinized its bluish gel-like content.  
  
"Traces of restriction endonuclease...an enzyme usually used to cut bacterial DNA at specific sites." Adam tapped his chin thoughtfully. The vial containing Elaine's hair was also missing along with samples of its DNA results. What HAD Jesse been doing? He checked the inventory list again. The centrifugation chamber. He hadn't checked that one yet.  
  
He dislodged a test tube from the collecting tray, which was still a little warm to the touch, obviously from having been centrifuged not very long ago. In the bright white light of the laboratory, he could clearly make out the three separate layers of sediment, all hued in different tones of scarlet red.  
  
Shalimar was checking the records on the computer's logbook to see if Jesse had used any of the other devices in the lab, to solve the mystery of Jesse's unknown experiments. True, Jesse WAS, she could say, a secretive person but she never expected this level of secrecy from him. She had told him over and over again since they were little that she would always be there for him if he needed her. He should know he could tell her anything!  
  
Jesse, your life is in danger damn it! She angrily brushed away a stray tear with the back of her hand. If anything happened to Jesse.  
  
Wait a second. She peered closer at the screen.  
  
"Hey Adam," Shalimar called. Adam came over in a hurry.  
  
"What is it?" Shalimar pointed at the monitor.  
  
"The record showed that Jesse used the DNA extractor at precisely 10 o'clock this morning."  
  
"The DNA extractor?" Adam's forehead wrinkled in a frown. The last time had used that was when he needed to extract Charles Marlowe's unique strand of DNA which coded for his mutant invulnerability and where it had helped them save Jesse and Emma's lives as well as the lives of hundreds of other Mutants who had fallen victim to the dangerous air-borne spore infection which had almost gotten them all killed, he couldn't see how the use of it was of any relevance to their current situation now. "This morning?"  
  
Shalimar nodded seriously. "No one was here except Jesse-Brennan and I were out, so were you and Emma-" The unspoken question played in Adam's mind.  
  
Who did he use it on? Adam wondered. "Bring up an image from 10 o'clock this morning will you Shalimar?" Shalimar tapped a few commands and a new window opened up, activating the security video camera in the lab. Instantly Jesse materialized on the screen, and the muscles on Adam's jaw clenched. Jesse looked terrible; he felt like kicking himself in the head for leaving Jesse alone at the Sanctuary.  
  
They watched silently as Jesse hefted himself painfully onto the bio-bed. Shalimar felt a lump in her throat as Jesse slowly lay back, his face clearly locked in a grimace and her eyes went wide as rays of high-energy electron beams hit him from the legs upward. She choked back a cry as Jesse bucked in the chair. "Oh God.."  
  
The painful episode ended a few minutes later and after a while, the video playback automatically shut itself down. But the unanswered question still lingered in the stillness of the sudden silence.  
  
"Why would Jesse extract DNA from himself?" Shalimar asked fearfully.  
  
Adam shook his head, obviously baffled. "I don't know."  
  
Ps: Hey guys sorry if this chapter might be a bit boring to you but I really have to get my thoughts together and I'm doing my best to make sure I myself know where this story is leading to! I think it's safe for me to promise you that the next chapter will be more exciting! Thanks! And pls review! 


	17. brd17

Elaine was not liking this. She was not liking this at all. Since yesterday she had been trying to track Jesse down; practically giddy with the prospect of finding the location of Adam Kane's prized Sanctuary at last. But the signal had been faint, so faint that for a second, Elaine thought she might have just imagined, which was quite impossible. It had been a few days since she had infected Jesse and by right the signal she was to receive should be very, very clear.  
  
Could it be that Adam Kane had succeeded in terminating the progress of the cancer in Jesse's body that she could no longer receive the signal anymore? Or maybe-Sanctuary was hidden somewhere that the waves just couldn't reach her. Somewhere underwater, she guessed. Or maybe hidden deep inside a mountain. Elaine's eyes narrowed.  
  
Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. Where are you hiding, Jesse? She tapped her long red fingernails against the armrest of her vehicle. They had been driving around for hours, going nowhere in particular in the hopes that the frequency of the waves she was sensing would increase with time so as to finally pinpoint to her the location of the mutant she was hunting. But so far, not only were the waves getting louder but they were getting more confusing.  
  
Right now it seemed as if the waves were coming in three different directions. Impossible. Jesse couldn't possibly be in three different places at the same time.  
  
What are you up to, Jesse? There was no doubt the molecular; probably Mutant X for that matter, was up to something. Now that his dark-haired friend and the feral were onto her, Adam and his renegades must be desperately trying to bring her down and at the same time, save their beloved molecular.  
  
Tsk tsk. Elaine almost felt a sense of pity at their futile efforts. She was the only one who could cure him and she was sure they were aware of that.  
  
For a moment, Elaine was tempted to just sit around and do nothing. She didn't particularly care if Jesse died or lived, his loss would be their loss, not hers. Besides she would have felt content enough letting Jesse die; causing Mutant X grief would just be a cause for celebration for Genomex.  
  
But then again Mason would have no qualms on doing away with her for letting one of the most golden opportunities they would ever come across at finding the exact location of Sanctuary go to waste. Even though Elaine knew she was probably walking right into a trap. But she was confident she could beat Mutant X at their own game and she always trusted her own instincts.  
  
Bringing the monitor screen up closer, she gazed coldly at the three red dots blinking furiously on the sensor against which she had calibrated the frequency of waves she was receiving from Jesse.  
  
Not impossible, she thought with a little admiration. A little background check on Jesse earlier had her convinced that Jesse, being the tech whiz he was, would be one of the few who could come up with something like this. He had probably put together a device coding the same frequency of wavelengths his own body was giving out in the hope to scramble the signals and give her false directions of his exact location. Tricky, but not impossible. One of the signals was coming from a building downtown at St. Charles Avenue, another coming from a building somewhere at the intersection of Kensington and Sheffield; quite a run-down area. Could Jesse be hiding from her there?  
  
But Elaine wasn't the least bit daunted. She had all the time in the world. To heal or not to heal him, that was in her powers to do. She could take it one step at a time and check out all three places in her own sweet time and not break a sweat.  
  
A cold smile formed on her lips. In the meantime, Jess, you just have to suffer in my absence. By the time I found, you'd be in so much pain you'll be on your knees, begging me to take you.  
  
Of that, she was sure.  
  
Her eyes gleaming with glee, Elaine tapped the monitor gently with her long, red fingernails. "Eenie. . .meenie.mynie.mo."  
  
"St. Charles Avenue. Fast," she commanded, and soon they were on their way.  
  
One step at a time. The smile never left her lips.  
  
One step at a time. 


	18. brd18

"Brennan, try to locate the last destination where Jesse took the Helix. That might give us a clue as to where he may be," Adam instructed, ticking off the to-do list in his head. "Emma, try to connect to Jesse psionically, see if you can find out where he is. He might be putting up some mental blocks like how you've taught everyone, but in his current weakened state, hopefully the shields are not too strong. Try hard." Emma nodded and ran toward the Dojo so she could meditate and concentrate.  
  
"Where do you want me?" Shalimar asked quickly, not wanting to be left out.  
  
"Shalimar, you go through all the programs run by Jesse in the Sanctuary's security system in the last three days; I can't shake the feeling that he might have done something to throw Elaine off, now that we know she'd go to every mutant she infected to kidnap them."  
  
"Got it." And off she went.  
  
Then Adam himself sat at the computer, the very computer where Jesse used to sit day in, day out, his mind racing in time with the beatings of his heart, growing faster with trepidation and anxiety with every second. The only thing on his mind was Jesse.  
  
How the hell am I going to get him back?  
  
***********************  
  
Safehouse 3, St. Charles Avenue  
  
"Nothing over here," a very ordinary-looking man quipped from the room next door. Elaine walked over to the small table hidden discreetly behind the safehouse's enormous refrigerator. True enough, there was a nondescript broadband transmitter taped to the side; pulsating with the tell-tale wavelengths it was giving out.  
  
"Jesse, you cheat," she whispered, wanting to laugh. "I've got the first one wrong it seems. But I'll get the next one right." Then she straightened and spoke loudly to her agents, "He's not here. Let's move it."  
  
As she headed for the steps, she whirled around. She'd suddenly thought of a suitable punishment for Jesse for playing around with her. Let him lay in wait for her all he wanted. But he'd have to do it in excruciating pain. She was going to stretch the time as long as she pleased. "On second thought-let's spend some more time here shall we?"  
  
Her next command would send chills down anybody's spine.  
  
"Destroy everything and anything."  
  
****************************  
  
Safehouse 11, where Jesse actually was.  
  
Jesse finally had to resort to taking some drugs. He was glad he did though; it succeeded in taking off the edge of the pain but thankfully it didn't cloud his thinking processes, which honestly, weren't doing so great at the moment.  
  
Now he was taping the last of the special device he'd prepared to the leaf of the main door. Good thing he'd done this once to play that trick on Brennan as a practical joke. The poor elemental had to sleep outside on the couch in the living room with his day clothes on because he couldn't get the door to his room open after he'd closed it for lunch and no matter how he zapped it, it had remained shut tight.  
  
Jesse had had his share of fun that time, but after half a day, he relented and dismantled the locking device he'd taped to Brennan's door the day before. But Brennan had certainly learned his lesson and he made it a point from that day onward not to 'borrow' any more aftershave or mouthwash or Jesse's expensive cologne from Jesse's room whenever he ran out.  
  
But now it wasn't a practical joke any more. Jesse was fighting for real. If the agents showed up anytime soon, he wanted to be ready.  
  
********************************** "Adam, I found something," Shalimar bellowed from upstairs. Adam jumped out from his chair and raced up.  
  
"Find anything?" He snapped.  
  
"Sure did." Shalimar pointed to the monitor. "Here's an inventory list to all electronic devices developed and created using the Sanctuary's electrical system. Jesse used it yesterday to create a transmitting device specially made to give out frequency signals of a certain wavelength-and he built two prototypes."  
  
"And I also found out that the Helix has made three stops since Jesse took it out earlier before he sent it home, I've only managed to find out where one was-it's our Safehouse number 8 down in Kensington and Sheffield. I'm still in the process of finding out where the other two stops were," Brennan reported from the computer station next to Shalimar. He frowned. "I wonder what Jesse was doing there. We shut the place down months ago."  
  
Adam couldn't stop thinking about what Brennan said. "In that case get a list of all the safehouses we've closed down. Wherever Jesse might be, if he's hiding in one of the safehouses, it'd be one which has been emptied. Shalimar, refresh the page and bring up the blueprint for the stereotype Jesse built."  
  
"Got it." Whatever Jesse did, he didn't bother to delete the files from the Sanctuary's database and in just a matter of seconds, Adam was inspecting the manual of the transmitting device on the computer.  
  
Why would Jesse have needed to build a transmitter of such type and such specificity?  
  
"And there's more, Adam." Adam looked at Shalimar, dreading what she was about to say.  
  
"Security records show that there's been some disruption to the radar sensory system, sometime yesterday, a few hours before Jesse's disappearance."  
  
"What kind of disruption?" And now even Brennan was listening.  
  
"It was some kind of interruption to Sanctuary's radar which jumbled up radioactive signals from missiles or any foreign crafts from both air and sea. If anyone were to attack us yesterday, they would have succeeded." Shalimar looked serious. "The signals seemed to have been scrambled by an unusually persistent vibration of 15000Hz-"  
  
"That's the frequency of the wavelength given out by Jesse's transmitting device!"  
  
"Exactly." Shalimar's eyes narrowed. "But at the time it wasn't given off by any of the prototypes since records show that he hasn't built them yet. Yet it came from inside the Sanctuary itself."  
  
"So what you're saying is. . ." Brennan's voice trailed off, eyes narrowed with confusion.  
  
"Radar signals only returned to normal at 1845 hours." She bit her lower lip. "The interruption only stopped after Jesse left."  
  
"It came from Jesse," Adam whispered. "Dear God. . ."  
  
"Adam?"  
  
Now he knew why Jesse left.  
  
"That's how Elaine tracks down her victims. She detects them through the waves their own bodies send off-a by-product of the neurotoxin-induced carcinogenic mutations-Jesse found out yesterday."  
  
"You mean, if Elaine succeeded in tracing him here, she would have found out the location of Sanctuary!" Shalimar gasped.  
  
"And he was leading her away. From here, from us." Adam finished grimly. Stunned, Brennan slowly sank deep into his seat.  
  
Oh man. 


	19. brd19

Dedicated to: Fanofbuffy, brigitta1, lgbabyblu, lornein, Framling, rain, Lucygoosey, Water-Soter, Kas, Estelle, Molecular12, Hiya17735, preciousbabyblue, Amber Cloud, Raquelle2, Feline-feral, deichtine, freakangel, Katsmeow, girl, Mela, PietraBob, Snow-Glory, goldstranger, wolfhorse, koalared, aniki19, mfkgst, and the list goes on. . . You guys are the best!!!

* * *

  
  
"It should be easy for us to locate Jesse now too, right? Now that we know about this wavelength thing-" Shalimar asked hopefully.  
  
Adam shook his head. "It's not that easy. I'm going to try but it's going to be like trying to find a needle through a haystack. Elaine's tracking system is so biologically specialized it's going to be very hard to imitate."  
  
Shalimar bit her lower lip nervously. "But we've got to do something...Elaine's probably hunting Jesse down as we speak!"  
  
"I know." Adam's face was grim. "Emma," he called over the com-link. "Have you sensed anything?"  
  
A few seconds later, Emma walked into the computer room. She looked haggard and drained, her eyes pinched in pain. "No luck. Either he's too far gone from here that I can't reach him or his mental shields are too strong."  
  
"Driven by sheer will and pain, I don't doubt that that is possible. We ARE talking about Jesse here," Brennan commented, clenching and unclenching his fist. He was clearly worried. He was worried that they wouldn't reach Jesse in time to save him. "We've got to do something."  
  
"Wait." Emma's eyes brightened. "I've got an idea. Brennan, did you manage to find out where Jesse went?"  
  
"Yeah, Safehouse 8 downtown, Kensington and Sheffield. Why?"  
  
"All our safehouses are located not too far from each other, so I think that if we all go there, I might get something off Jesse and connect to him. We might even be very lucky and find Jesse there."  
  
"Well, right now we don't exactly have a choice. Let's go," Brennan urged, grabbing his coat. Shalimar did the same.  
  
Adam held up a hand. "Now guys, I want you to be careful. She is a very powerful mutant and I don't want any of you to even go near her, I don't want anyone getting hurt or sick or whatever. Be very careful. I'm going to stay here and see what I can do with the DNA Jesse extracted from Elaine and also from himself. Hopefully by the time you bring Jesse back, I'd have something ready for him."  
  
IF we bring him back, Shalimar thought darkly.  
  
Don't think like that, Emma shot her an angry glare, sensing her friend's fearful doubts.

* * *

  
  
"Come on, Jesse, I know you're in here," Elaine called. Exasperatedly, she tossed her glossy black hair over her shoulder. She was getting bored. Going through all this trouble just for one mutant-not just any mutant, he's Mutant X, she told herself. But still. . .it'd be so much easier if he'd just sit tight at one place.  
  
She'd led her team to another wild-goose chase, arriving at Safehouse 8 just to find it empty and chained up. They'd messed the place up pretty good too, rendering it completely uninhabitable. Just to get a friendly message across to Mutant X.  
  
They took their time to get to the third safehouse on their list.  
  
And now she stood at the foot of the stairs, her eyes wary as she swept them across the living quarters. Computers covered with a long sheet of clear plastic clustered around one corner of the spacious room; upturned tables and chairs stacked up against the wall in another. But there was no sign of Jesse.  
  
Elaine rolled her eyes. OF COURSE there's no sign of Jesse. What do you expect?  
  
She tilted her head upward slightly, as if listening intently to something. All her six accompanying agents showed a rare sign of initiative and began to spread out, each brandishing his trusted stun gun, all of them cocky, confident; how hard could it be to catch one guy, one sick, dying mutant? OK fine, he's Mutant X, but still, terminally ill.  
  
Elaine narrowed her eyes. Jesse was close, very close. She could sense it, feel it in her bones. "Search every room. Once you find him, bring him to me."

* * *

  
  
Jesse held his breath as the last agent walked in through the door, praying that he wouldn't see him hiding on the ledge just a floor above. He peered down carefully. Oh damn. There was still an agent down there, waiting outside, guarding the door.  
  
Damn. Jesse pressed his back against the wall and suppressed a sigh of frustration. He would have to get rid of that one agent before he could carry on with his plan. He could still kick ass, no doubt he could; but he was having a hard enough time to even maintain his precarious footing on the 2-storey high ledge, the pain was bad enough to make him want to puke, even after he'd just taken another dose of painkillers not a half hour ago.  
  
He inhaled deeply, the breeze brushing a strand of stray blond hair off his forehead. The height was enough to make him woozy.  
  
Come on. You can do this. Don't chicken out now.  
  
Pressing a protective hand against his belly, Jesse began to take small baby steps to the left, heading toward the edge of the ledge nearest to the door. The agent was about 3 yards away, his back to him. The icy air blew against his face. Man, was he cold.  
  
Jesse closed his eyes and braced himself for the agonizing moves he knew he was going to make, his head throbbing in time with the waves of pain in his abdomen. Come on, get this over with. It's going to be over soon, anyway.  
  
He gritted his teeth and pulled them back in grimace as he catapulted forward, executing a perfect somersault through the air which could make even Shalimar go green with envy and landed on the ground. Jesse involuntarily groaned in pain as his feet sent jarring sensations running up his body.  
  
Surprised, the agent whirled around, his eyes going wide as he saw Jesse. But before he could scream out a warning to his friends inside, Jesse grabbed them around the waist and tackled him to the ground, and with a sudden burst of energy, drew back his fist, on second thought, massed it just for good measure, and sent loose a devastating punch to the face. The agent's head lolled lifelessly to the side.  
  
Jesse doubled over slowly as he waited for the pangs of pain to pass, taking in slow, deep breaths. I can do this. I know I can.  
  
One down, seven to go.  


* * *

  
  
Safehouse 8, Kensington and Sheffield  
  
"Something's wrong," Shalimar said uneasily as they neared the deserted building. They'd parked the Helix on the roof; the sensors showed no other vehicles, specifically black jeeps, were packed anywhere near the safehouse. But Brennan thought they should check it out anyway.  
  
"What? What is it? Is there someone inside?" Brennan asked, frowning. Slowly he pushed the door leading to the stairwell open. He walked in first, followed by Shalimar, and then Emma. Emma said nothing, but they could see that she was tense as well.  
  
"No. That's just it. There's no one in the building but I could smell them, you know, people," Shalimar whispered loudly as they carefully descended the steps. The air smelled dank and musky. "They were probably here a little while ago. That's probably why the scent still lingers."  
  
"Probably." At last they reached the ground floor which used to be the main living quarters. "Here goes."  
  
The door swung open lazily. Three pairs of eyes went wide with shock.  
  
"Oh my God. . ." Emma gasped, her face contorted in utter dismay.  
  
"What the hell-?" Brennan hissed, marching forward angrily, carefully side- stepping over-turned tables and chairs, broken wirings and pieces of junk that were strewn all over the place. Bullet holes riddled the walls; cushion covering slashed to shreds, every light-bulb, every window, every piece of glassware smashed to pieces. Computer monitors destroyed with the only thing left were gaping holes where the screens used to be, clouds of remnant smoke floating upward gently.  
  
"I'm surprised they didn't just torch this place." Shalimar's voice was dangerously low; her eyes gleaming golden.  
  
Brennan shook his head as he surveyed the damage. "This is unbelievable." He threw his hands in the air in a helpless gesture.  
  
"Found anything?" Adam's voice suddenly resounded through the room.  
  
"No," Brennan said sullenly. "They trashed the place up, Adam. It's really bad."  
  
Adam sighed audibly. After a while, he said, "Let's just focus on the problem at hand, shall we? Any trace of Jesse?"  
  
Emma grunted suddenly, her hand suddenly flying to her temple. Shalimar grabbed her arm. "Emma?"  
  
In the eye of her mind, she was seeing through Jesse's eyes. In a flash, she could see where he was. But the connection was abruptly cut off and Emma found herself reeling backward.  
  
"Emma?" Brennan peered at her worriedly.  
  
She blinked.  
  
She knew the place. She had been there before.  
  
"I know where he is!"  


* * *

"Come out, come out, wherever you are. . ." Elaine called out in a sing- song voice, mimicking the corny line she had heard thousands of times before in numerous horror movies. She smashed open a locked cabinet only to find nothing inside. "I'm getting bored, Jesse!"  
  
Quietly, Jesse slipped inside the safehouse, closing the door carefully behind him. When the lock slid into place with a soft click, a chill ran down Jesse's spine. Now that he'd already sealed the safehouse, he knew he was actually sealing his fate.  
  
He strode purposefully to the railing, and leaned forward casually, propping his elbows against the metal bar.  
  
"Hey, Evie."  
  
Elaine turned around slowly, and hid the glimmer of a smile before she lifted her face upward. Her piercing green eyes shone with delight. "There you are!!!"  
  
Jesse returned her smile with a cold one of his own. "Been looking for me?" He walked slowly to the steps. Agents started rushing up the stairs; determined to bring him down. One was about ready to shock him with a stun- gun when Jesse stopped him dead in his tracks with a look.  
  
"Take one more step and you're dead," he said icily.  
  
Elaine threw her head back and laughed. "I don't think you're in any position to make threats, Jesse. I can see you're not feeling very well, right now. I'm the only one who can save you so just save it. You're not a threat to anyone." She smirked.  
  
Jesse imitated her mocking laughter, much to her surprise. "You think so?" He reached into his pocket and extracted a small, rectangular box-shaped object. Gleefully, he pressed on the small red button on it.  
  
A loud explosion tore through the whole safehouse and Elaine instinctively threw up her hands to shield her face, eliciting an involuntary scream. The couch on which she had sat earlier had exploded into bits; sending a few men sprawling with the force of the blast. She stared at Jesse in disbelief.  
  
After a while, she regained control of herself and cocked her head. "Is that supposed to scare me?"  
  
Jesse was still smiling as he walked down the stairs, taking one step at a time. This time the agents gave him a wide berth between them. "I thought I heard you scream. I bet you're new. Because Eckhart never sends anyone who screams."  
  
With that, he pressed on the button again, and this time, a bomb strapped to the kitchen table went off with a deafening blast, and heavy debris rained down on them; Elaine took a couple of steps backward to avoid the flying pieces of wood. Jesse took the final step down the stairs and was safely on the ground.  
  
"What the hell are you all waiting for? Get him!!!" She screamed.  
  
Stupefied just a second ago, her men came back to life, and started to scramble down the stairs. Jesse rolled his eyes and calmly laid his hand on the railing. The whole staircase phased, and with muffled screams and cries, all six men fell through space, collapsing on top of each other in jumbled heaps.  
  
"Idiots," he muttered. The phasing had taken a lot from him and Jesse could feel his strength flowing out of him as the pangs of pain got stronger and stronger by the minute. But he'd be damned if he were to let Elaine see that.  
  
He let go of the railing. The staircase solidified.  
  
Elaine was staring at him, her eyes unreadable. She was trying to figure out what Jesse got hidden up his sleeves.  
  
"I've planted bombs of the kinds you'd never dare to imagine, and in the quantity you'd never to imagine around this safehouse. Guys, really, don't you think that's a fun way to die? Dying of cancer is so boring, don't you think?" He grinned.  
  
"What's the matter, Evie? Are you scared now?"  
  
"You're not seriously going to blow up your own safehouse, are you?" She asked challengingly, folding her arms across her chest.  
  
Jesse fought the urge to double over in pain. Instead, he pasted a smile on his face. Sweat rolled down his back, matting his shirt to his skin.  
  
"Well, according to you, no matter what I do, I'll end up dead anyway, so the answer is yes. Unlike you, I've got nothing to lose," Jesse said spitefully. He cocked his head upward as one of the agents had gotten up the stairs to try to pry the door open. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You're locked in. There's no way out."  
  
He turned to face Elaine, the woman who'd caused him so much pain and agony. "The way I see it, if I am going to die, so are you." He played with the detonator idly. "Guess I'll beat you at your own game after all huh?"  
  
"You lie!!!" She hissed.  
  
"Try me!" Jesse spat.  
  
"You really should have stayed at your Sanctuary, Jesse. Since you're of no use to me now, I really don't have any qualms about killing you," she snarled, her hands charging up with deadly tendrils of energy. "You'll be begging me to finish you off by the time I'm done with you!"  
  
With a roar, Elaine lunged toward Jesse, murder in her eyes. 


	20. brd20

Elaine moved forward with such speed and agility that Jesse was momentarily taken aback. His reactions were much slower and he barely managed to dodge her thrusting fist, which narrowly missed his face. Jesse brought up his forearm and blocked her next blow, determined not to let her to even touch any part of his body. If he could help it.  
  
Swiftly, she pulled back her fist and twisted at her waist, swinging her long leg instead. The kick caught the side of Jesse's face and it threw him heavily to the ground. With a grunt, Jesse leaped back to his feet despite the screaming protests of his muscles; and countered with a kick of his own, but it swooped harmlessly over her head as she ducked just in time. Jesse saw her draw her elbows up and flipped backward in panic, narrowly missing what would have been a painful bash in the groin.  
  
For a second, Jesse almost forgot about his pain; calculating and planning his next moves, for some of the agents had recovered from their fall and were coming straight at him.  
  
Hey, no fair! I'm just one guy!  
  
Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead, his stomach cramping in protest as he lunged, thrusting a powerful punch, aiming for Elaine's throat. On reflex, she clamped her fingers around Jesse's wrists, blocking the jab which would have crushed her windpipe otherwise. But years of training had taught Jesse what to do, and in a flash, he unclenched his fist, extending his fingers forward, flexing them open-grabbing Elaine's throat. And massed. He squeezed hard, crushing her windpipe anyway.  
  
Abruptly, Elaine released his wrists and grabbed for her throat. As she hacked away, coughing uncontrollably, one of the men rushed toward Jesse, brandishing a baton. Another man rose. Then another. And another.  
  
Soon, Jesse found himself surrounded by six men, all armed. Damn. I'm in big trouble.  
  
Suddenly he wished his friends were there. He clenched his fist, tempted to call for help, (what the hell was he even thinking when he thought he could pull this off alone?) but when his thumb brushed against the base of his middle finger, he froze. He looked down and saw the whitish imprint of what used to be his precious metal band on his bare finger. His com-link. He forgot that he'd taken it off and left it in the Helix.  
  
Stupid Jesse.  
  
Well, looks like I'd have to take care of this myself.  
  
His gut burned. Jesse gritted his teeth against the agony, and took a deep breath. He parted his legs slightly and resumed his stance.  
  
In a blur of movements, Jesse soon had his grip around an agent's neck, and with all his might, punched him in the lower back, The agent cried out in pain, and went down on his knees, momentarily paralyzed; Jesse drilled him to the ground with his knee, and seized the baton from the man's quivering grasp.  
  
He leaped to his feet and nearly dropped the baton he'd just stolen as a ball of fire erupted within his abdomen. Jesse gasped, and doubled over slightly, his face deathly pale. And there were still 5 men hovering over him, one already on the move. He contemplated massing again but he doubted he could make it far enough; knowing that it'd drain his energy faster.  
  
"Argh!" Sheer will forced Jesse to straighten himself up, and withstanding excruciating pain, he twirled the baton over his head, and with a roar, rammed himself into the second guy, shoving him hard against the concrete wall, slamming the baton against his throat. In frenzy, Jesse lifted the baton a little, freeing the guy's throat for just one second, and slammed it down again. The agent crumpled to the floor, gasping, clutching his throat.  
  
A hard blow to his jaw sent Jesse reeling, spinning him around, and sending him staggering. Once he recovered, Jesse grabbed the edge of the heavy oak table and with a mighty push, gave it one hard shove. The edge of the table slammed into their stomachs, throwing them to the ground. And for that one moment, Jesse was the only one standing.  
  
Elaine slowly climbed to her feet.  
  
"Come fight me, you bitch," Jesse rasped, eyes burning with hatred and pain. He spat some blood onto the floor at her feet. "Just you and me, here, now. Let's get this over with."

* * *

  
  
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Emma asked shrilly. Brennan looked at her as if she'd gone mad.  
  
"This is the Helix, Emma. How fast do you think it can go?" In fact, they were flying at full-speed, and if there were any other aircrafts up in the air, they would have been in serious danger of collisions.  
  
Emma sank into her seat unhappily. "This is taking forever."  
  
"Believe me, I know how you feel," Brennan muttered, his face grim as he maneuvered the controls. He stabbed a button. "We'll touchdown in thirty seconds."  
  
Shalimar was staring off into space, and she was playing idly with Jesse's com-link, fingering the sleek metal edge distractedly. Jesse was the one who'd carved and designed the com-links for everyone. It was ironic that he'd be the one to finally take it off, possibly permanently.  
  
Brennan glanced at her. He hesitated a little but at last, he reached over and placed a comforting hand on her knee. "He's going to be alright, Shal. You'll see."  
  
Shalimar met his gaze. And said nothing.

* * *

  
  
Jesse was fighting to his death. Unlike any of Eckhart's goons he'd fought with before, Elaine obviously had had some training in martial arts and he was finding it increasingly difficult to focus. He blocked another punch, only to let one of his own but punching nothing but air. Now she was digging her elbow into his back, determined to push him down to the ground.  
  
Against his will, Jesse slapped a hand against the cold cement floor and phased.  
  
Elaine uttered a scream of shock and terror as they both fell through the floor; and Jesse landed painfully on his stomach and he bit his lip to keep from moaning. They'd fallen through first floor and here they were, in the basement, totally separated from her bunch of useless goons.  
  
Jesse reared his head back, and slammed it hard against her face. He heard the satisfying crack of the back of his skull meeting her nose. Judging from her cry, he'd probably broken her nose and some teeth as well.  
  
But his victory was short-lived. A boot slammed into the back of his head, grinding his face against the ground. A burst of pain exploded in his head and black spots danced in front of his eyes. He felt himself being turned over roughly onto his back. Jesse bit his tongue hard; nothing worse could happen to him now than blacking out.  
  
He opened his eyes just in time to see Elaine loom over him and before he had the chance to do anything, she slammed her foot down on his stomach. Jesse screamed, his back arcing in agony.  
  
Breathing hard, Elaine stood tall before him. "You asked for it, Jesse," she whispered regrettably, and thinking that she had won, she was just about to bend down to haul Jesse to his feet when he jerked suddenly, in pain and anger, slapping her hand away, an arm locked around his himself. He whisked the detonator out again.  
  
"Touch me and I swear to God I'll blow you up to pieces," Jesse hissed.  
  
"You're not going to do it." Elaine smirked. "I didn't believe you then, I don't believe you now."  
  
Jesse stabbed on the red button. Instantly they heard and felt a loud explosion upstairs and were immediately rained by plaster dust and pieces of debris falling from the ceiling.

* * *

  
  
Brennan, Shalimar and Emma were only a few feet away when suddenly a loud explosion erupted in the safehouse, the force of the blast strong enough to knock them to the ground. There were DEFINITELY someone inside.  
  
"Jesse!!!" Shalimar screamed, leaping to her feet and immediately raced for the door. She tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. She tried again, twisting the knob frantically, pulling at it with all her strength.  
  
"It's LOCKED!!! Why the hell is this door locked???!!!" Shalimar was screaming now. She banged on the metal door with her bare fists. "Jesse!!!"  
  
When that didn't work, she took a couple of steps backward and lunged. With a mighty burst of strength, Shalimar launched a devastating kick to get it to open. The metal door jarred, but the safehouse was indeed a safehouse. The door remained intact. Her eyes gleamed golden and she was about to try again when Brennan stopped her.  
  
"Hey! Shal!" Brennan shouted, grabbing her arm and started to shake her. When she wouldn't budge, he physically grabbed her and pushed her aside. Emma wrapped her arm around her friend. "Calm down, Shalimar."  
  
"But Jesse's-" Shalimar stared at her friend helplessly.  
  
"Brennan, can you open the door?" Emma asked sharply.  
  
"I'm trying," the elemental muttered. "Stand back." Blue tesla coils licked up his arm and he feverishly kept pumping more and more energy, but still, it wouldn't open. Billows of smoke started to come out from the slits of the air vents from inside.  
  
Damn it, Jesse! Brennan knew the layout of this particular safehouse, he used to frequent it with Jesse a few years back because there was an elemental here he used to fancy. He knew there was no other way in.  
  
Brennan began to run back toward the Helix, which was parked out in the yard.  
  
"Shalimar, Emma, stand back!"  
  
"Wh-What are you going to do?" Emma asked fearfully.  
  
"Just stand back as far as possible!" Brennan jumped inside and scrambled into the pilot seat. He slammed on the controls. Instantly the engine roared to life. Through the front-view window of the Helix, he could see that Emma had pulled Shalimar to the side and was staring up at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. Safehouse 11 loomed over him, more and more black smoke coming out from beneath the panels of its narrow, closed windows.  
  
"Hang in there, baby," he whispered to himself, patting the control panel in front of him. The ship's hull was made of hard, impervious alloyed steel. He hoped it was strong enough to withstand the force of what he had to do next. He was going to ram the Helix into the Safehouse.

* * *

  
  
"I don't want to fight you, Jesse," Elaine said slowly, shaking her head. She stared at the molecular in front of her. "I can see you're in pain. Let me help you." She took a step forward.  
  
Jesse shook his head, adamant. "You lie. You never wanted to help me. You wanted to hurt me. Well, you know something? I'm never letting you take me back to that place." He leaped and caught Elaine around the waist, tackling her to the ground.  
  
His face was mere inches away, and she could feel his hot breath on his skin as he pinned her down. "And you know what? I'm going to keep you here so that you won't hurt another mutant again."  
  
"Are you crazy?" Elaine screamed in his face. She shoved him off her and scrambled for the stairs that led to the upper floor. The door was locked tight.  
  
"Jesse, open this door! Let me out of here!"  
  
"No." Jesse was leaning tiredly against the wall, his head lolling lifelessly. The pain was unbearable. He knew he was dying. Ironic when the only person in the world who could help was there in front of him. "This place is going to blow in five minutes, you know." As if on cue, another explosion rocked the floor above them and Elaine froze.  
  
"Jesse, let me heal you. Then we can leave this place together," she pleaded, she was getting desperate. "Do you remember the first time we met? You'd want to kiss me again, don't you?"  
  
"Why the sudden change of heart, Evie?" Jesse asked mockingly, his eyes beginning to close. His hand, clutching his stomach so tightly before, now hung loose. "Thought you wanted to finish me off, bitch. Better do it now when you still have the chance. I'd rather die than let you take me back to Genomex."  
  
Elaine's eyes blazed with fury, her beautiful features now ugly as they contorted in anger. She raised her hands, and they were now flickering with red tendrils of aura. Another blast resounded through the air, this time way, way louder than the ones before, sending more and more debris falling all over the basement area where Jesse had trapped them in.  
  
Jesse straightened himself up slowly, his legs shaky, his knees weak. His heart was beating so fast he could feel each beat slam against his ribcage. This is it. This is the end.  
  
He closed his eyes  
  
He felt his fist clench around the detonator.  
  
"Jesse!!!" His eyes flew open. He thought he heard someone call his name, the voice so achingly familiar he must have just imagined it. "Jesse!" That voice called again.  
  
"Shalimar?" He whispered in disbelief and his fist unclenched. The detonator fell from his hand and hit the ground with a thud.  
  
But Elaine was already attacking. Jesse's eyes went wide as her hands swooped down in front of his eyes and at the last moment, he moved; twisting his body painfully to the side. The tendrils of energy licked harmlessly up the wall where he was leaning against seconds ago.  
  
"Jesse!!!!" He could hear someone banging on the door outside. Brennan.  
  
His friends were here! He didn't know where it came from, but Jesse all of a sudden felt a new surge of energy burst from within him; it could have been his instincts for survival, it could be his friends' voices but suddenly he could see a glimmer of hope-that this might not be the end after all.  
  
Viciously, Elaine aimed for his face, intent to rake her fingers across his cheeks. Jesse lowered his body a little and punched her in the stomach forcefully, throwing her back a couple of steps. Glowering, Jesse leaped forward and grabbed her shoulders. With a cry of pain, Jesse massed.  
  
With the last bit of strength left in him, Jesse drew his massed fist back and swung it around in an arc, slamming it against her left temple. The force threw Elaine violently against the wall, and she slid down gracefully. She didn't move. Unconscious. Finally.

* * *

  
  
The Helix left a huge gaping hole where Brennan had driven it into the walls of the safehouse. By the time they were inside, they were amazed at the number of bodies lying on the floor; the blasts had apparently rocked the whole structure of the safehouse and huge chunks of the ceiling above had collapsed, pinning the men to the ground.  
  
Shalimar was relieved to find that Jesse was not among them. "Jesse!!!!"  
  
"He's down in the basement!" Emma exclaimed, leading them down the stairs. True enough, when they reached the door, they could hear grunts and moans from inside, mostly unmistakably Jesse's.  
  
"Damn it, she's going to kill him!" Shalimar tried to get the door to open but once again, she found it locked. "Not again!"  
  
Brennan zapped the door. It wouldn't budge. Sweat ran down the sides of his face. They were so close, yet so far. If only Jesse were here, he would have just massed and rammed the door open with his fist. Ironically, Jesse WAS there, on the other side of the damn door.  
  
"Let me try," Emma snapped. Brennan and Shalimar stepped to the side as Emma positioned herself a few feet away from the door. A glowing red orb began to form in the middle of her forehead and it grew bigger and bigger as she concentrated on accumulating all her energy for one huge blast. "This is going to be big," she warned.  
  
The red ball of fire seared through the air, shooting from the center of her forehead, blasting the door open with a thunderous clang, white smoke wafting around them. Shalimar jumped inside.  
  
"Oh no, Jesse. . ." Her eyes widened in horror. She leaped down the small flight of stairs and raced to his side, dropping down on her knees next to him. "Oh Jess-oh thank God-"  
  
Jesse was lying on his side, both arms clutching his abdomen, his eyes glassy and glazed. They could see he was having difficulty catching his breath. Brennan and Emma also fell on their knees and tried to lift him up. The flicker of recognition in his eyes was something Shalimar would never forget as long as she lived.  
  
"You came. . ." Jesse whispered, his voice so faint they could barely hear him.  
  
"Of course we did," Shalimar said, her eyes brimming with tears, and laid a hand on his cheek. "Come, we're gonna get you home." Out the corner of her eyes she saw something move. She froze.  
  
"Brennan-" Brennan whirled around and zapped, once and hard. Elaine, blood trickling down her temple where Jesse had hit her, stood frozen with her hands upheld. At last, the red tendrils of energy died out and she slumped to the floor in a dead faint again.  
  
"I can't stand that woman," he muttered to himself.  
  
"Gotta-get out of here. . .this place-it's gonna blow. . ." Jesse struggled to say. Blood trickled down his chin in a tiny rivulet. It hurt so much the pain was beyond imagination. As if on cue, something exploded upstairs, sending wafts of dust and dirt flying all around.  
  
"Come on!!!" Brennan scooped the smaller molecular up in his arms. Jesse didn't even grunt; he was already unconscious.  
  
"Hold on, Jesse. We'll get you home. Just hang in there, buddy."  
  
"Just hang in there."   
  
Author's Notes: Hmm, I think that's the longest chapter I've ever written for any story, ever. Please, if you feel like you've enjoyed it, even a little, leave me a review or two, huh? Last chapter coming up next. . .Peace!  
  
Signing off, 

Laily 


	21. FINAL CHAPTER

Spoilers: Shock of The New, I Scream the Body Electric  
  
Adam was ready. He had been waiting in the hangar in dreadful anticipation after Brennan contacted him on their way back to Sanctuary and though very, very relieved that they had found Jesse, he was also very, very worried. Just as soon as the Helix touched the ground, he pushed the stretcher he'd brought with him forward.  
  
"Adam!!!"  
  
Brennan immediately transferred Jesse into his arms, and Adam gently lowered the unconscious molecular onto the stretcher.  
  
"Did you get anything from the DNA markers?" Brennan asked urgently as he helped Adam push the stretcher in. The older man was giving Jesse a once-over inspection; complexion pasty, heart rate dangerously slow, the skin clammy to the touch.  
  
"No," Adam replied, tense. "I've only had time to complete the genetic mapping for her genome, and there was nothing much I could get out of it in such a short time." His forehead furrowed in consternation and anxiety; then Brennan finally realized that Adam was more worried that he wouldn't be able to do anything to save Jesse.  
  
"Don't worry," Brennan reassured him as they wheeled Jesse into the medical. He gestured for Adam to look behind. Adam turned. "We've got something for you."  
  
Shalimar was lugging an unconscious woman over her shoulder, with Emma close behind her. The feral dropped Elaine none too gently onto the floor, not even bothering to lay her down in a chair. Wordlessly she marched toward the locked cabinet in the far corner of the room where they kept all the special equipment. With just one hard pull, she pried it open. After rummaging in it for a few seconds, she found what she was looking for.  
  
She marched back toward the slumped woman and viciously grabbed a fistful of glossy black hair, exposing the smooth skin of Elaine's slender neck. Unfeelingly, Shalimar squeezed the trigger and the roar of the subdermal governor rattled through the entire room. Emma winced.  
  
Adam pretended he didn't see that. "You brought the mutant back with you?" He exclaimed, stunned.  
  
"Uh, yeah." The elemental gathered Jesse up and lifted him onto the bio-bed. "Don't worry. We made sure she was unconscious the whole time. Besides Jesse kicked her ass pretty good back there. Doubt she'll remember much about anything when she comes to."  
  
Stunned, Adam shook his head. "You're going to tell me everything that happened," he ordered. "When this is all over."  
  
Emma went to stand at the foot of the bed and laid a hand on Jesse's forehead. "He feels cold." Adam draped a blanket over his prone body and then started the scanner running.  
  
"This doesn't look good. The cancer's spread to his liver and spleen. And it's still growing," Adam said seriously as he studied the image on the screen.  
  
"No wonder he was in so much pain." Brennan shook his head. He shot a glance at Elaine, who was still slumped unconscious on the floor. Just then a low groan sent Shalimar racing to the bed.  
  
"Jess!" Blue eyes flickered open slowly, and soon, they were darting feverishly from familiar face to another, before finally resting on Adam's. Then they saw it. A weak smile.  
  
"Hey Adam."  
  
"Jesse." In a rare gesture of affection, Adam traced his fingers along Jesse's temple and massaged it gently, his face much brighter than it had been the night before when Jesse was still missing. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Fi-" Jesse gasped suddenly as he felt the stabs of pain return; he bucked violently in the bed in a silent scream.  
  
Brennan jumped forward and tried to hold him down as his friend writhed for relief that was never going to come.  
  
Jesse's face was a mask of pain. He tried to hide it, but the moan he'd tried to suppress finally slipped its way past his parched lips. Hot, liquid fire scorched his insides, and Jesse had never felt this weak in his whole entire life; he didn't even have the strength to bring his knees up to his chest to relieve his agony. He could only grip Shalimar's hand as he fought tears of pain from springing to his eyes. "It's eating me, Adam. . ."  
  
Shalimar's heart wrenched in sympathy. Her eyes watered. She felt a sudden flood of anger surge through her. Before anyone could stop her, she let go of Jesse's hand and kicked Elaine hard in the ribs.  
  
"Get up," she hissed in anger.  
  
Elaine only looked up at her blankly, dry crusted blood caking on the left side of her face. She sniffed once through her visibly broken nose and looked away, but not before she let Shalimar caught her smirk.  
  
"Get up!!!" Shalimar screamed, kicking her again, this time sending her sprawling across the floor. Elaine propped her elbows against the floor, her long black hair hanging down, concealing her face. When she turned to face Shalimar again, she was grinning savagely, her green eyes dancing with glee.  
  
Jesse whimpered as he tried in vain to ride out the pain, a single tear sliding down his temple in a slow trickle.  
  
Elaine began to laugh. A slow giggle at first, then it escalated to a maniacal cackling that sent chills running down Shalimar's spine, her thin shoulders shaking uncontrollably as her body racked with bouts of laughter.  
  
Emma's eyes darkened. She remained dangerously quiet.  
  
"You-you-" Elaine struggled to get her words out in between guffaws. "You brought me here-" A wheeze. "-you kept me prisoner in this-" She looked up and let out a snorting laugh, "-Sanctuary of yours. . ."  
  
She shook her head. "You'd better treat me nice, Shalimar Fox. I might just save your precious Jesse." Her eyes glinted dangerously, her teeth bared in a malicious grin. "But on second thought, I think I'll just let him die."  
  
Shalimar lunged, but Emma was faster for once, grabbing her friend and pulling her back. Shalimar struggled to wrench her arm free but Emma silenced her with a look.  
  
Elaine took a look at Emma and she abruptly froze. She suddenly remembered who this young woman was from the files, the one with the auburn hair and sharp, cold eyes. She suddenly remembered what she could do. The most powerful psionic Genomex had ever come across. A psionic who can basically coerce anyone into doing anything.  
  
"No!!!!" Elaine tried to scramble to her feet, and scurry past Emma but her terror paralyzed her. Elaine clung to the wall, her chest heaving with exertion as she stared at Emma, fear evident in her eyes. "Don't come near me!!!"  
  
"What's the matter, Elaine? Are you scared of me?" Emma taunted. Her forehead started to glow. "Get up."  
  
"No. . ." Elaine moaned. She desperately clawed at the sliding door, trying to get it to open. "Please don't. . ."  
  
"That's right," Emma sneered. "Beg."  
  
Shalimar, Brennan and Adam were all staring at her in amazement, disbelief.  
  
"Get UP!!!" A psionic blast hit Elaine right in the forehead and abruptly, she climbed to her feet. She couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Emma's hypnotic gaze.  
  
Emma closed her eyes and concentrated hard, summoning all her strength. Another ball of energy formed on the center of her forehead. Then she let it go, hearing Elaine's cry as it hit her.  
  
When Emma opened her eyes again, Elaine was staring at her blankly, like she didn't know her at all, waiting for her command. She pointed her finger toward the figure lying prone on the bed.  
  
"Heal him. Now," Emma commanded, her voice hard.  
  
Shalimar couldn't believe her eyes as Elaine slowly walked toward Jesse. And stopped as she reached the side of the bed.  
  
"Shal," Emma snapped. "Governor."  
  
"Oh. Right." Shalimar turned to Brennan. "Be my guest."  
  
Brennan shrugged. He forced Elaine's head down and pushed her long mane of hair aside, away from her neck. He zapped the governor. "There," he announced. "Deactivated."  
  
"Do it now, Elaine," Emma ordered. Like a zombie, the black-haired woman leaned down and placed both hands on Jesse's abdomen, who had long since fallen unconscious again. Blue tendrils of energy began to form from her fingers, licking up her forearms. The monitor began to beep, as Jesse's vitals began to plummet. Jesse's eyes flew open.  
  
"Emma," Adam started to say.  
  
"Don't worry, Adam. I've got it under control." Emma stood at the foot of the bed, watching.  
  
Beads of perspiration began to form on Elaine's forehead as she pumped more and more energy inside Jesse, killing the cancerous cells one by one. Jesse moaned and he squirmed, but Brennan held him down.  
  
"Hold still, Jess. Just a little bit more."  
  
"Adam, look!" Shalimar pointed to the screen. "The tumor's shrinking!"  
  
"It's working," Brennan whispered, his face breaking into a smile. Adam stared at the monitor in amazement. Indeed it was. The tumors in Jesse's alimentary canal, liver and spleen were slowly shrinking in size, reducing in mass and density with every flow of energy Elaine pumped into his body.  
  
Finally, at long, long last, they were reduced to nothingness. Jesse had stopped moaning and writhing, and was now staring up at his friends with wonder.  
  
"The pain's gone," he whispered, stunned. For the first time in days, he was free of gut-wrenching, excruciating pain. It was the best feeling in the world.  
  
"Saves you a lot of labwork, doesn't it?" Brennan grinned, winking at Adam. The older man still had not gotten over his shock. But he was grinning as well and he patted Jesse on the shoulder.  
  
Elaine reeled backward, her eyes clearing as the effect of Emma's psionic blast began to die down. "Wha-" She gasped, staring at her hands in horror. What the hell have I done? She looked up and saw Mutant X crowding around the bed excitedly, ecstatic that their friend was going to live. Her thoughts began to clear and the cobwebs were disappearing. Someone did this to me.  
  
"You!!!' She screamed, enraged, pointing at Emma. "You did this to me, you b-" She started to lunge for Emma when someone tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
Elaine didn't even see the fist flying toward her face. A second later, she was knocked out cold once again on the floor.  
  
"Loser," Shalimar growled. "You picked the wrong mutant to mess with."  
  
Emma walked up to her and they wrapped an arm around each other. "Nice job, girl," Shalimar said in admiration, her eyes grateful.  
  
Emma smiled.

* * *

"Jesse, you should eat some more," Shalimar urged. She placed another sashimi onto his plate.  
  
Jesse shook his head in amusement. He put a hand to his stomach. "Guys I'm still healing in here, remember?"  
  
"So? No solid food for a week, you should be craving for more," Emma quipped, and she too, placed another sashimi onto his plate. "It's time to make up for it."  
  
Brennan was busy stuffing his face. "This is totally awesome-I could eat here everyday," he said through a mouthful of shrimp tempura. It was a Saturday night, and the Japanese restaurant was crowded but Adam managed to pull some strings and get them a table. He reached for another tempura. After he finished it, he lifted his bowl of miso soup to his lips and slurped it down.  
  
Jesse watched his friend with a bemused smile on his lips. "Adam, you haven't fed Brennan enough. He's gobbling everything up like the Cookie Monster."  
  
"Cookie Monster?" Brennan lifted an eyebrow.  
  
"Sesame Street," Emma explained with a smile. Adam shook his head and dipped a piece of sushi into the wasabi sauce.  
  
"Yeah, and you eat like a baby." Brennan pointed at Jesse's plate. "You haven't touched a thing. Here give me that." He reached across the table and speared the sashimi with his fork.  
  
"Hey!" Shalimar scolded him good-naturedly. "You're not exactly helping." She leaned her head against Jesse's shoulder contentedly. Adam watched them with a smile. They were very young when he adopted them and now, all grown up, and still they hung around. Then he looked at Brennan and Emma, the latest addition to the family. Silently, Adam offered a prayer for all the wonderful things he'd been blessed with, wonderful people, wonderful children, who would do anything for one another, even die for each other.  
  
Jesse twisted the com-ring around his middle finger absently. "Thanks for keeping this for me."  
  
"You thought you weren't coming back," Shalimar stated, her eyes accusing.  
  
"No. I was." Jesse hesitated. "I mean, I told myself, that. . .if I made it to the end, I would come back. And I did." He looked around the table. At all his friends. "I just didn't expect you to come for me."  
  
Brennan was staring wistfully at his glass of water. "You came back for me when Genomex took me." He raised his eyes. "I was just returning the favor."  
  
Jesse stared at him for a long time. Yeah. He remembered. It was when they first 'recruited' Emma and Brennan. Mutant X had broken into Genomex and Jesse had all his guard uniform on, and boy, he didn't expect Brennan to remember him breaking into the cage where Eckhart had kept all the New Mutants with his bare massed fists, releasing them from captivity.  
  
"You barely knew me then. But you didn't care about that. You came in and saved us all," Brennan continued. "See, I remember that."  
  
A lump rose in Jesse's throat. Emma slid in next to him and snuggled in close, hugging him.  
  
"We're so glad you're okay," she whispered.  
  
"Guys," Jesse croaked, his eyes misting. "Thank you."  
  
A long moment passed before anyone said anything.  
  
"Who's up for some more sake? I know I am," Adam suggested, meeting Jesse's gaze, his eyes gentle. Adam shuddered again for God knew how many times, at the thought of nearly losing him.  
  
Shalimar extricated herself from Jesse's arm, and leaned forward. She smeared a piece of California roll with wasabi and brought the fork to Jesse's lips. "Open wide." Jesse complied. He chewed slowly.  
  
"Tastes good," he mumbled finally. Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, Shalimar leaned in for a full kiss right on his lips. Jesse's eyes went wide. When she finally pulled back, his face was red.  
  
"Wh-what was that for?" He stammered. Brennan only laughed.  
  
"That was for deciding to stay alive," she answered. And then she smacked him on the shoulder. "Now THAT was for almost leaving me." Jesse smiled at his surrogate sister tenderly.  
  
"I would never leave you, Shal." Then he turned toward Emma on his other side. "Don't I get a kiss from you too?"  
  
Emma made a face. "You just ate a piece of roll dripping with wasabi. There's no way I'm going to kiss you." But then she leaned in and kissed him on the right cheek. Then his left cheek. Then lastly his forehead. "There. Three kisses. That should be enough."  
  
Jesse leaned back against his seat, a goofy grin on his face. "I'm in heaven." Then he looked across the table at Brennan, who was staring at him intensely. "Are you going to kiss me too, Brennan?"  
  
"Not a chance," he deadpanned. "I was just wondering what I had to do to get two girls to kiss me all at once."  
  
"Try dying," Jesse answered dryly. "The heroic-death trick always blows them away."  
  
Adam cleared his throat. "Speaking of blowing things away, Jesse-WHAT IN THE WORLD were you thinking?"  
  
"What?" Jesse squeaked.  
  
"You ran off without telling anybody, you took off your com-ring, you built enough explosives to blast the whole world back to the 14th century, you put your own life in danger by facing GS agents all by yourself without back-up-haven't I taught any of you anything about recklessness?"  
  
"Umm. . ." Like a deer caught in the headlights, Jesse sank back into his seat.  
  
"Now, I want you to repeat after me. Do you think you can do that?"  
  
Jesse nodded guiltily. Shalimar and Brennan shared a look of amusement.  
  
"Adam, I'm sorry." Adam's voice was stern, sounding exactly like a father disciplining a ten-year- old.  
  
"Adam, I'm sorry," Jesse repeated in a small voice.  
  
"Adam, I'm sorry for running off on my own-"  
  
"Adam, I'm sorry for running off on your own-"  
  
"No, no, you're supposed to say 'running of on YOUR own'"  
  
"Running of on your own?" Jesse was confused.  
  
"No! Say, on 'my' own!"  
  
"What-I'm sorry for running off on 'your'own?" Jesse echoed, frowning.  
  
Emma giggled. Brennan shook his head, hiding his own smile and went back to eating.  
  
"You pig!" Shalimar threw a piece of fish at him. She laughed.  
  
Adam sighed. "Let's start this all over again. Jesse!"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Promise you'll never run off like that again. Ever."  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Say it!"  
  
"I promise I'll never run off like that again, ever," Jesse said dutifully.  
  
"Promise you'll never blow up any of my safehouses again. Ever."  
  
Brennan was seriously laughing now. Jesse's face went beet-red.  
  
"I promise I'll never blow up any of your safehouses again, Adam. I'm really, really sorry! I was just-"  
  
"Let me finish the sentence Jesse." Adam held up a hand. "Promise me you'll never blow up any of my safehouses ever again unless it is a matter of life and death. Then you have my permission to blow up anything you want."  
  
Jesse's face broke into a grin.  
  
"What happened to you, to all of us, recently, that WAS a matter of life and death," Adam finished, smiling at Jesse fondly.  
  
"Anything I want?" Jesse asked, his face hopeful.  
  
"Except for my new Jag," Adam retorted. Emma laughed out loud. "No matter how jealous you are of it."  
  
The waitress suddenly appeared at their table, bringing more sake.  
  
"I'd like to make a toast," Brennan said, lifting his glass. Everyone did the same. Brennan looked at Jesse. "Jesse, you nearly went away for good but you came back. So this toast is for you."  
  
"To good health."  
  
"To good health!!!" A chorus.  
  
Jesse was the only one who refrained from drinking.  
  
Shalimar frowned. She placed her empty glass on the table. "Jesse?"  
  
Jesse grabbed her glass and filled it up with more sake. He lifted his glass and also hers. And downed them both at one go. When he put them down again, his eyes were wet. "Life-"  
  
He grinned his usual, lop-sided grin. "-is good."

* * *

Elaine Perraudin's cold, lifeless body lay in the pod, her eyes dull and empty. Eckhart just stared down at her in disdain as he circled the pods one by one.  
  
All of you failed me.  
  
He stopped next to her pod.  
  
Even you, Ms Perraudin.  
  
And that was where she lay till the end of her life.  
  
THE END  
  
Author's Notes: It's finished!!! Finally!!!! Took me more than a year to finish this-but it's been a good year. Thank you to all those who never failed to leave me reviews, they kept me going, really.(Wow, this is like accepting a Grammy!!!) So guys, for the last time (for this story, that is) review your heart out and tell me what you think!!! And send me chocolates!!! And send me Jesse too!!! I love Jesse. 

Laily


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